Photodegradation of Flame-, Water-, Weather-, and Mildew-Resistant Cotton Tentage Fabrics

Abstract

Cotton drill was laboratory-finished with 24 combinations of the constituents commercially used in protective treatments for multi-component flame-, water-, weather-, and mildew-resistant (FWWMR) cotton tentage, and exposed for 0, 50, 150, and 250 h to carbon-arc and xenon-arc accelerated light sources. The percent loss in breaking strength of the FWWMR cotton tentage after 150 h and 250 h of light exposure was significantly greater when chlorinated paraffins were included in the finishing formulation. Antimony oxide, copper 8-quinolinolate fungicide, and C.I. Pigment Yellow 34 (lead Chromate) exhibited a protective effect on the carbon-arc exposed samples, thereby reducing the extent of photo-degradation. The carbon-arc exposed samples exhibited a significantly greater loss in strength than the xenon-arc exposed samples. Flame resistance was maintained throughout 250 h of exposure. The hydrogen ion concentration of the samples exposed 250 h to carbon-arc light was used as a measure of chemical degradation.