Innovative integration of chitosan biopolymer for felt-free woolen fabric: A synergistic approach with digital textile printing

Wool, renowned for its ancient legacy and unique attributes, is a prized textile fiber with versatile applications in various domains. However, the susceptibility to shrinkage due to the scaly structure of overlapping cells (scales) in the cuticle poses a challenge, prompting the widespread adoption of chlorination to enhance resistance to felting and shrinkage. This research explores the potential of chitosan biopolymer as an effective anti-felting agent and enhancer of wool dyeability. With its non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable properties, chitosan is a promising substitute for various textile finishes. Recent innovations include chitosan’s contribution to improving the digital printing process, particularly in enhancing color strength and sharpness on cotton fabric. Identifying a research gap in exploring the synergistic potential of chitosan for anti-felting, this study introduces an alkaline hydrogen peroxide pre-treatment to enhance chitosan absorption through the pad-dry-cure method. Chitosan, acting as a binder, is strategically applied in the pre-treatment to fix pigments with reactive inks during inkjet printing. Critical process parameters, such as chitosan concentration, curing temperature, and time, were optimized for area shrinkage (%) to achieve a felt-free property for wool. Subsequent optimization focuses on color strength, print sharpness, and washing durability of digitally printed patterns. The results obtained from this research were quite promising in terms of K/S value, wettability, pilling behavior, tensile strength, edge sharpness, washing fastness, and fabric shrinkage resistance.