Abstract:

In order to impart good application properties of feather keratin sizes to high-polyester warp yarns, methyl acrylate (MA) and acrylic acid (AA) monomers at various molar ratios were simultaneously grafted onto the molecular chains of native feather keratin under the same monomer concentration. A series of feather keratin-g-P(AA-MA) with different molecular structure were prepared and then used to size polyester/cotton(T/C65/35) warp yarns. Sizing properties of the feather keratins were evaluated in terms of tensile strength increasing rate, tensile elongation edcreasing rate, abrasion-resistance number, and the hairiness amount of the sized yarns. The results show that the sizing properties of the feather keratin to high-polyester warp yarns can be obviously improved by the introduction of appropriate amount of PMA grafted branches. Compared with the unsized T/C yarns, the yarns sized by the feather keratin-g-P(AA-MA) with good water-solubility, which molar ratio of MA/AA monomers is 20：80, exhibit better properties. The tensile strength of the sized yarns is increased by 19.27% while the tensile elongation is decreased by only 19.76%. The abrasion number of the sized yarns is about twice as high as that of the unsized yarns. In addition, the hairiness amount of the yarns sized by the grafted keratin is decreased to a large extent.

Key words: polyester/cotton warp yarn, feather keratin, methyl acrylate, graft copolymerization, monomer compatibility, sizing property