Author(s)

Liberato Venant Haule

College of Engineering and Technology, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The surface chemical analysis and bulk analysis were conducted for fibres regenerated from waste garments and treated with iodine solution. The aim was to assess the fibre accessibility by the iodine solution and ascertain the location of the reagent within the fibres. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that the fibres regenerated from indigo dyed waste denim garments (ReCell-Denim) had a relatively high accessibility by the iodine solution compared to the standard lyocell, ReCell-1 and ReCell-2 fibres. With the exception of ReCell-Denim, the standard lyocell, ReCell-1 and ReCell-2 fibre’s iodine sorption values correlated well with the percentage crystallinity. The high accessibility of the ReCell-Denim fibres was attributed to the presence of the positively charged nitrogen from the indigo dyes that improved the substantivity of the fibres to the iodine solution. The iodine sorption of the fibres is relatively higher in the bulk compared to the fibre surface.

Iodine Sorption Value, XPS, Bulk Analysis, Cellulose, Waste Garments

Haule, L. (2016) Iodine Sorption Value and Surface Chemical Analysis of Regenerated Cellulosic Fibres. Journal of Textile Science and Technology, 2, 37-45. doi: 10.4236/jtst.2016.22006.