Patent GB-1161748-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in the Treatment of Keratinous Fibre Fabrics
IPC: C08L75/04
Filed: 1966-11-04
Abstract: 1,161,748. Treating keratinous fibre fabrics. DEERING MILLIKEN RESEARCH CORP. 4 Nov., 1966 [19 Nov., 1965], No. 49626/66. Heading D1P. Fabrics containing keratinous fibres, e.g. wool, are subjected to an external stabilizing operation by applying to the fabric a polymeric coating composition or a chemical reagent capable of reacting with the keratin to produce new linkages and causing this reacttion, treated with a reducing agent and before or after this treatment arranged in a desired configuration and subjected to the action of an aldehyde while in this configuration after treatment with the reducing agent. The external stabilizing operation may comprise applying to the fabric a polymer by an interfacial polymerization reaction, e.g. a polyhexamethylene sebacate, a reactive terpolymer based on vinyl type monomers, a polyepoxide-polyamine composition, an acid colloidal dispersion of a melamine-formaldehyde condensate, a reactive polyurethane, an emulsion of an acrylic ester or preferably a reaction product of a polyfunctional isocyanate or isothiocyanate with a polyhydroxy compound, a polyester polyamide, polyepoxide, phenol-alkylene oxide reaction product, formaldehyde resin, hydrogenation product of an olefin-carbon monoxide copolymer or polyepihalohydrin, numerous examples of which are given, which may be applied to the fabric as a solution in an organic solvent, e.g. trichloroethylene, methylenechloride, perchloroethylene, ethylene dichloride, chloroform, toluene, xylene, benzene, n-butyl acetate, ether or phosphate, p-dioxane, ethyl oxalate, methyl isobutyl ketone, pyridine, quinoline, N,N- dimethyl-formamide or -acetamide or 2,2,4- trimethylpentane. The reducing agent may be an alkanolamine sulphite containing up to 8 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain, zinc, sodium or potassium formaldehyde sulphoxylate, sodium or potassium borohydride, bisulphite, sulphite or metabisulphite, ammonium bisulphite sodium sulphide, hydrosulphide, hypophosphite, thiosulphate or dithionate, titanous chloride, sulphurous acid, thioglycollic acid, sodium, potassium or ammonium thioglycollate, hydrogen sulphide, butyl or ethyl mercaptan or #-mercapto ethanol. The reducing agent may be used in conjunction with a polyhydroxy compound having a molecular weight not greater than about 4,000 or other auxiliary compound, e.g. urea, guanidine hydrochloride formamide, N,N-dimethyl formamide, acetamide, N,N-dimethyl acetamide, thiourea, phenol or lithium chloride, bromide or iodide. The aldehyde may be an unsaturated or saturated aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heterocyclic alhehyde which may be substituted. The aldehyde may be applied to the fabric in the form of an organic compound which releases an aldehyde on thermal decomposition which is applied together with the reducing agent, e.g. compounds having the formula in which R is methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, n-butyl or iso-butyl. Other compounds which release aldehydes on heating or hydrolysation which are applied after the reducing agent are compounds having the formula HO(CH 2 O) n H, N- methylolethanolamine sulphite, N,N-dimethylol ethanolamine sulphite, N,N-methylolisopropanol amine sulphite, N-methylol formamide, acetamide or acrylamide, hexamethylene tetramine, trimethylolmelamine, sodium and potassium formaldehyde bisulphite and formals. The fabric may be made up into a garment e.g. trousers after the external stabilization treatment prior to or after treatment with the reducing agent. Fabric comprising wool in admixture with polyester fibres may be treated.