Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Characteristics of Diffferent Cellulose Fibres Monitored by Tensiometry

Sa？etak Wettability and sorptivity improvements for different textile materials are the major tasks during textile finishing. In order to improve the sorption characteristics of a cellulose fabric, different pre-treatment processes are applied, usually washing, bleaching and mercerisation. Differences in the sorption properties of un-treated and pre-treated (washed and bleached) regenerated cellulose fibres were obtained using tensiometry and compared with the classical method for determining moisture adsorption. Results show that compared to raw fibres, viscose fibres have the highest moisture and the smallest contact angle whilst modal fibres have the biggest contact angle. Pre-treatment increases the sorption abilities and makes the material more accessible to Chemicals used in the finishing processes. Using the conventional method, it can be confirmed that fibres with the highest moisture have the smallest contact angle (tensiometry)