Optimised fluorine free polysiloxane based water repellent for cellulosic fabric

This research focuses on creating a new water-repellent finish for textiles utilising a sol-gel pro-cess and the combination of 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (KH560) and gamma-Methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (KH570) as a precursor which was then modified with branched sili-cone through sol-condensation. A fluorine-free, new-generation polysiloxane-based water repellent wasprepared and analysed to achieve the best water repellent characteristics. Different parameters andconditions were tested during the preparation of chemicals to achieve this. After preparation, all thechemicals were characterised using various scientific analysing tools such as Fourier Transform Infraredradiation, thermogravimetric analysis, particle size analysis, contact angle and water-repellent testing.Following the particle size investigation, it was discovered that the particle size distributions for thesesamples were homogenous and advantageous, allowing for more efficient contact and penetrationwith the textile fibres. The results of this study confirm the existence of functional groups that can con-tribute to the desirable characteristics of the compounds to repel water with one coupling agent,KH570:KH560 ¼ 0.02 mol:0.04 mol, showing particularly good water-repellence performance