Effect of morphology of microcapsulated natural pigment on printing result of cotton fabrics

Microcapsulated organic pigment(Ⅰ) prepared with miniemulsion by polymerization and microcapsulated organic pigment(Ⅱ) prepared with micro-suspended emulsion by polymerization were applied to the pigment printing of cotton fabrics respectively.The morphology of the microcapsule on the printing result and the morphology of the printed cotton was examined by microscopy and testing of the wearability of the printed fabrics.The film-formation mechanism of microcapsulated pigment on the printed surface of the fabrics was investigated.It was found that the microcapsulated pigment(Ⅰ) prepared with quasi-nanometer scale miniemulsion has better spreading flowability and self-adhesion so that its pigment can be evenly and firmly coated on the surface of the yarn under the continuous film after curing,and the fabric printed with microcapsulated organic pigment(Ⅰ) displayed better color fastness,depth of shade,and hand feeling.By contrast,the fabric printed with microcapsulated organic pigment(Ⅱ) showed gathered state depositing pigment particles on its surface due to the large size of the pigment particles.It so comes to the conclusion that the morphology of microcapsulated pigment and the spreadability and migrating of pigment particles during film curing have great effect on the printing quality of cotton fabrics.