Silk finishing with epoxides

Abstract

The pad‐dry‐steam and pad‐dry‐bake finishing of tussah silk fabric with triglycidyl ether of glycerol in the presence of catalysts has been investigated. Potassium thiocyanate was found to be the most effective accelerating agent for this purpose. The optimum treatment conditions for either steaming or baking are discussed. The reaction mechanism involving the formation of an epithioxide intermediate is proposed and was confirmed by determination of the sulphur content of the fabric. The processes described could be readily adapted for commercial exploitation.