Abstract
Wool fiber was treated with PPE (polyglycerol polyglycidyl ether) multifunctlonal epoxide compound, in order to introduce crosslinks onto the fiber. The optimum conditions, such as NaSCN concentration, time and temperature, were determined in the reaction of wool fiber with PPE epoxide. The amount of epoxide added onto wool fiber increased linearly with the epoxide concentration in the reaction media. The solubility, degree of swelling and tensile properties were significantly affected as the add-on(%) of PPE epoxide varied. These properties indirectly confirmed that the crosslinks were introduced inside the fiber. The direct evidence for the crosslinkins formation was also obtained from the decrease in the cystine content. SEM and X-ray diffraction analysis suggest that the deposition of grafted epoxide copolymers occurs on the surface of wool fiber, particularly in the case of high epoxide add-on(%).
