One-step method for stain proofing finishing of polyester fabric in supercritical carbon dioxide

Traditional finishing methods for textiles manufacture usually involve burdensome processes and heavy pollu-tions, which can no longer meet the green and sustainable developments of modern textile industry. In this work, a green and eco-friendly method was developed for the stain proofing or namely the tri-proofing (water-, oil-and soil-proofing) finishing of polyester with one-step process in supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide (SCF-CO2). The effects of the dosage of tri-finishing agent, system temperature, pressure and duration on the tri-proofing per-formances of polyester were investigated, and a mechanism for supercritical tri-proofing finishing was further supposed. The achieved results demonstrate that the developed supercritical one-step process for tri-proofing finishing has good feasibility for preparing functional polyester fabric, and satisfactory processing perfor-mances and efficiency were obtained along with 4-grade or above for water-and soil-proofing, and 6-grade for oil-proofing on polyester. Moreover, the surface morphology and components of the polyester were effectively modified via the supercritical tri-proofing finishing, which was verified by SEM (Scanning electron microscope) and FT-IR (Fourier-transform infrared) analysis. Additionally, in comparison with the control substrate, an ignorable influence on the air permeability of the finished polyester was also available along with a comparable washing fastness. The repetitive washing had no considerable affect on water-and soil-proofing performances, while the oil-proofing grade slightly dropped. All results distinctly show that the supercritical tri-proofing fin-ishing not only affords a promising strategy for imparting polyester with durable and multifunctional perfor-mances, but also is a powerful way with eco-friendly characteristics involving broad application markets.