Water- and oil-repellent finish of PET fabrics using UV irradiation

UV-curable water- and oil- repellent finish was carried out to impart one-side repellency to the PET fabrics using a formulation of a UV-active fluorocarbon agent and a water soluble photoinitiator. The aqueous formulation was padded on the PET fabrics and was subsequently UV-cured. The unirradiated side of the cured fabrics was made to wetteable to water by the prolonged UV/ozone irradiation. The difference in the functional property of front and back sides was examined by measuring water- and oil- repellency of the treated fabrics, which resulted in four rating and two rating differences between two sides, respectively. The UV-cured and photodegraded PET surfaces were also characterized by ATR and ESCA.