THE EFFECT OF WEATHERING ON COTTON FABRIC CONTAINING CERTAIN COPPER ROTPROOFERS

Abstract

On exposure to outdoor weathering for three months, No. 8 cotton duck showed substantial loss in breaking strength. The untreated fabric showed a loss of the same order as the losses of samples treated with copper naphthenate, copper hydroxynaphthenate, copper oleate, and copper tallate containing 0.1 to 1.0% copper. The copper treated samples showed slight evidence of increased actinic degradation as measured by cuprammonium fluidity. There was an appreciable decrease in the copper content of the treated samples on weathering. The decrease in copper content and breaking strength on weathering and the extent of attack by micro-organisms in soil burial testing were reduced considerably by the presence of a waterproofing compound of the wax-pigment-filler type. The initial water resistance of the proofing was modified by the presence of the copper compounds, being reduced by copper naphthenate, oleate, and tallate and increased by copper hydroxynaphthenate although on ageing and weathering these effects were minimized.