Study on the Aging Mechanism of Down Fiber Under the Daily Washing and Drying Conditions

ABSTRACT

In order to clarify the aging mechanism of down fiber under the daily washing and drying conditions, fluffiness, whiteness, microscopic morphology, crystallinity and molecular structure of down fiber after different washing and drying treatments were observed. Results showed that the daily washing conditions of weak acid or alkali (pH = 5–9) and drying conditions of low temperature drying (55°C and sunlight) only slightly affected fluffiness, whiteness, and microscopic morphology of down fiber. However, the addition of short-term mechanical agitation reduced damage and even improved fluffiness, whiteness. Additionally, down fiber did not experience chemical damage in the above environment. However, the strong alkali (pH = 10, pH = 12) washing environment and high temperature (105°C,155°C) drying treatment not only caused the decline of fluffiness, whiteness, microscopic morphology but also caused the change of crystallinity and molecular structure. Additionally, the stronger the alkalinity, the longer the time, the higher the drying temperature, the more obvious the performance decline. Moreover, regardless of the washing and drying conditions, mechanical agitation for a long time easily led to performance degradation. Therefore, down fibers were suitable for the daily washing conditions of weak acid and alkali (pH = 5–9) and drying conditions of low temperature drying (55°C or sunlight) with slightly mechanical agitation.

摘要

为了阐明羽绒纤维在日常洗涤和干燥条件下的老化机理，观察了不同洗涤和干燥处理后羽绒纤维的蓬松度、白度、微观形态、结晶度和分子结构. 结果表明，弱酸或弱碱（pH = 5–9）的日常洗涤条件和低温干燥（55°C和自然光照射）的干燥条件对羽绒纤维的蓬松度、白度和微观形态的影响较小. 而且，短期机械搅拌的加入既可一定程度降低日常护理损伤，也可改善其蓬松度与白度. 此外，还发现羽绒纤维在上述环境中未发生化学损伤。然而，强碱（pH = 10，pH = 12）洗涤环境和高温（105°C，155°C）干燥处理不仅会导致羽绒纤维的白度、微观形貌下降，还会导致其结晶度和分子结构的变化. 此外，碱度越强，时间越长，干燥温度越高，性能下降越明显。此外，无论洗涤和干燥条件如何，长时间的机械搅拌均会导致其服用性能下降. 因此，羽绒纤维适合弱酸和弱碱（pH = 5–9）的日常洗涤条件和轻微机械搅拌的低温（55°C或自然光）的干燥条件进行日常护理.

KEYWORDS:

• Down fiber
• aging mechanism
• daily washing and drying care
• mechanical agitation
• sunlight
• performance degradation

关键字:

• 羽绒纤维
• 老化机制
• 日常洗涤和烘干护理
• 机械搅拌
• 自然光
• 性能下降

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Research Highlight

• The relationship between the daily washing and drying care conditions and performance degradation of down fiber was quantitatively investigated.

• The optimum conditions daily washing and drying care conditions for down fiber has been found.

• The developed produce was environmental-friendly and high commercial value, because of reducing performance degradation of down fiber and prolonging the service life of down fiber assemblies.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Natural Science Research Project of Anhui Higher Education Institutions (KJ2020A0352); The Open Project Program of Anhui Province College of Anhui Province College Key Laboratory of Textile Fabrics, Anhui Engineering and Technology Research Center of Textile (2021AETKL20); Open Project Program of Shanghai Fire Research Institute of MEM (2020×FZB09); 2022 Anhui Polytechnic University - Jiujiang District Special Fund for Industrial Synergy and Innovation (2022 CYXTB7); School-level research Foundation of Anhui Polytechnic University (Xjky03201908).