Surface Modification of Viscose Fabric with Silane Coupling Agents ‐ An Aspect of Comfort Properties

Abstract The surface of viscose fabric was successfully functionalized with 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) and 3‐methacryloxypropyl‐trimethoxysilane (MPS) in order to optimize its physicochemical characteristics and textile performances. The functionalization was optimized with silane monomer concentrations of 600 and 300 %, ethanol‐water ratios of 60 : 40 and 80 : 20, pH 3.5 and 5, and reaction time of 90 and 60 min at 30 °C, for MPS and APS, respectively. The modified viscose fabric was characterized by FTIR, TGA, DTG, SEM, and EDX. The FTIR spectra of the MPS and APS‐modified fabrics showed additional peaks at 825 cm −1 for Si−CH 2 group and 1208 cm −1 Si−O−CH3, respectively, indicating the incorporation of silane coupling agents. The degradation temperatures of MPS and APS‐modified fibres were 342 °C and 328 °C, respectively, while the value for untreated viscose fibre was 319 °C. The elemental percentage of silicone on viscose fibre after modification was 2.6 and 4.2 for MPS and APS respectively. The silane‐modified viscose fibre shown enhanced tensile strength, water repellency, thermal stability, wrinkle recovery, and improved colour fastness quality. These improvements were due to the flexibility of Si−O bond and the fibre matrix interfacial strength properties. Hence, the modification somewhat enhances the physico‐chemical characteristics of viscose fibre.