Surface grafting of cashmere fiber and its performance

In order to improve the felting and easy pilling characteristics of cashmere fabric,surface grafting of cashmere fibers was performed with methyl acrylate as monomer and potassium persulfate( KPS) as initiator. The factors influencing the graft rate was analyzed,and the morphological structure and main performances of the grafted cashmere fibers were tested. The grafted cashmere fiber with different weighting percentage can be obtained by controlling the treatment duration under the following conditions: bath ratio 1 ∶ 20, initiator KPS 1%, monomer concentration 40%, reaction temperature 80 ℃ and pH = 2. The grafted cashmere fiber with a weighting percentage of 10% exhibited certain modification on the surface while retaining a full scale structure, with slightly enhanced mechanical properties,significantly improved frictional properties,and improved felting performance.