Water repellent treatment for cotton fabrics with long-chain fluoropolymer and its short-chain eco-friendly alternative

As the long-chain fluorochemical molecules used to obtain water and stain repellent textiles persist in the environment, chemical suppliers are trying to develop new products in order to find ecological alternatives. The current most developed substituents are based on molecules with shorter fluorine-carbon chains. In the current work, a long-chain fluoropolymer and its short-chain homologue were applied on cotton fabrics at different finishing conditions. Textile properties such as wettability, air permeability, mechanical properties and handle properties, for untreated and treated cotton samples were investigated. Laundering test was also performed to predict the durability of the finishing. The obtained results demonstrated that cotton samples treated with short-chain fluoropolymer show good water repellency and good washing durability. The use of short-chain fluoropolymers, as nontoxic and eco-friendly finishing chemicals, has allowed obtaining comparable performances to those produced with long chain fluoropolymer.