P043_0729_ Surface modification of polyester using chicken feather keratin hydrolysate to improve water absorbency and dye uptake

Abstract

PET fiber has an intrinsic low hydrophilic character and an inactive surface which make it uncomfortable for wearing purpose. Moreover, it is difficult to colour polyester fabric other than disperse dyes. Therefore, surface modification of PET is very important to improve its absorbency and bring the possibility to dye polyester with anionic dyes by altering its surface characteristics. This research was focused on surface modification of polyester using chicken feather which involves serine as the most abundant amino acid with hydroxyl groups. The treated polyester fabric using 20ml/L concentration of chicken feather extract showed improved water drop absorbency from 45 into 3 seconds and the reactive dye uptake by 36 folds from 0.15 to 5.37 K/S values.