A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SCOURED AND BLEACHED HEMP FABRIC THROUGH SEM, FTIR AND XRD

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is an annual plant and one of the most widely used crops cultivated for obtaining long and strong bast fibers. The resulting fibers contain cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, and other impurities. The presence of lignin and impurities makes the hemp fibers stiffer and brittle. These disadvantages challenge the direct application of fabric in the apparel industry. Therefore, a pretreatment is important for tuning the properties of hemp fabric for successful use in the apparel industry. The aim of this study has been to examine the effect of scouring and bleaching on the surface morphology, chemical structure, and crystallinity of the hemp fabrics by using instrumental techniques, such as SEM, FTIR, and XRD. SEM analysis of the samples showed slight changes in the properties of scoured, and scoured and bleached hemp fabric. The surface of the scoured fibers became smooth due to removal of non-cellulosic material (lignin, hemicelluloses and wax) and the thickness of the fiber slightly increased. Further, after bleaching, the surface of the fibres became very rough and the thickness of the fiber was reduced. FTIR analysis showed that the absorbance peak of -OH stretching decreased after the bleaching process. XRD analysis showed a slight increase in crystallinity index (%) of scoured, and scoured and bleached fabrics due to the removal of non-cellulosic materials after chemical treatments.