Improving the Spinnability of Rabbit Hair Using Ionic Liquid Treatment.

Rabbit hair is an excellent textile fiber owing to its softness and luster. However, the poor spinnability of rabbit hair restricts its application on textiles. In this article, ionic liquid (IL) solutions were used to treat rabbit hair at five different temperatures. The raw and treated rabbit hair was then characterized by microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), mechanical property, XRD, and properties related to spininability (crimp and friction property, moisture regain, and electrical performance). The results showed that the rabbit hair fiber's morphology was obviously curled, and mechanical properties and crystallinity were reduced after ILs treatment. Moreover, the friction performance was increased by 15% and the crimp rate was increased by 7.2 times. These results suggest that with proper temperatures of ILs treatment, the rabbit hair could show better potential for spinning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]