Hydrophilicity and Self-Cleaning Property of Kroy-Processed Wool Fabric Coated with TiO2/SiO2 Composite Hydrosol Stabilized by BTCA

Kroy-processed and original wool fabric were successfully modified by TiO2/SiO2 70:30 sol with the stabilization of 60g/L 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA). In order to explore the influence of Kroy-process on TiO2/SiO2 sol treatment, self-cleaning property of original and Kroy-processed wool samples coated with TiO2/SiO2 sol were investigated by a Color Measuring & Matching System. In addition, the contact angles of four kinds of wool fabric (original wool, Kroy-processed wool, TiO2/SiO2 coated original wool and TiO2/SiO2 coated Kroy-processed wool) were respectively evaluated to achieve the effect of Kroy-process on the hydrophilicity of wool fabric. The results revealed that the applying of Kroy-process is conducive to the coating of TiO2/SiO2 sols on wool fabric. The total color difference ∆E of coated wool increased 42% from 30.35 to 43.09 after the application of Kroy-process. Besides, the hydrophilicity of wool fabric was enhanced since the contact angle of Kroy-processed wool decreased to 133.5° while original wool was 140.3°. Furthermore, coated samples with Kroy-process had lower value of contact angle as compared with coated original wool fabric.