The study of rapid curing crease-resistant processing on cotton fabrics. II. Effect of poly(ethylene glycol) on physical properties of processed fabrics

This study aimed to examine the effects of the addition of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) on the physical properties of processed cotton fabrics in a rapid heat-curing crease-resistant process. Our results show that this addition influences the moisture absorbency, crease resistance in both dry and wet conditions, and tensile strength preservation rate of the processed fabrics. Moreover, with such addition, the use of higher temperature in the process would enhance the moisture absorbency and dry–wet crease resistance but reduce the tensile strength preservation rate. The optimum condition for processing cotton fabric is to use PEG with a molecular weight of 1000 at a concentration of 10%, heated at 200°C for 30 s. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 1008–1012, 2002