Development of Durable Shrink-resist Coating of Wool with Sol-gel Polymer Processing

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link. Knitted wool fabric was pre-treated with the serine type protease, Esperase 8.0L (EC3.4.21.62), and sodium sulphite followed by an immersion treatment with a sol-gel hybrid polymer. To enhance the durability of the sol-gel treatment on wool, one of two different alkoxysilane containing coupling epoxy or mercapto groups were added to the sol-gel hybrid. The combination of protease treatment with an immersion sol-gel treatment achieved wool fabric that was lightweight with a soft handle and had combined shrink-resistance and hydrophobic properties without fibre discoloration. The addition of an alkoxysilane with a mercapto coupling group within the sol-gel hybrid gave better performance than using an alkoxysilane with an epoxy coupling group in terms of polymer uptake, fabric shrink resistance, whiteness and durability to washing.