Development of free fluorine and formaldehyde oil and water repellent finishes for cotton fabrics through polymerization of bio-based stearic acid with carboxylic acids

This research is an attempt to develop nontoxic and sustainable oil and water repellent which is fluorine and formaldehyde free. For this purpose, stearic acid was polymerized with formaldehyde free cross-linkers, such as maleic acid and acrylic acid. Sodium hypophosphite was used as a catalyst and triethanolamine as an enhancer during the polymerization. Polymerization conditions were optimized such as temperature, time and atmosphere. The prepared recipes were then applied onto the cotton fabrics. The obtained results reveal that the finished cotton fabrics achieves good oil and water repellency, crease resistance, soil resistance, and antimicrobial properties. In addition, the surface of finished cotton fabrics was characterized via SEM, EDX, FTIR, XRD, and TGA.