Abstract
A NEWLY prepared stearyl alcohol / poly (N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (SA/PVP) hybrid emulsion was used, as a water repellent finish, alone or in combination with some phenolic compounds namely tertiary butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), curcumin and vanillin, in easy care finishing formulations. The results obtained reveal that: i) finishing fabric samples with different concentrations of the hybrid emulsion in absence of the aforementioned phenolic compounds, significantly enhances fabric weight, tensile strength, stiffness, water repellency, antibacterial, water vapor resistance and thermal resistance properties along with a gradual decrease in the resilience, surface roughness and air permeability of treated fabric, ii) using the hybrid emulsion with the above phenolic compounds efficiently enhances the storage life of the emulsion and upgrades the antibacterial properties of treated fabric, iii) addition of vanillin provides the finished fabric with pleasant scent, curcumin upgrades the UV protection property of treated fabric and TBHQ slightly enhances tensile strength, surface roughness, air permeability, water vapor resistance and thermal resistance along with a reduction in the resilience of treated fabric, and iv) the prepared hybrid emulsion, whether in absence or presence of TBHQ, can be used as extender for fluorocarbon textile finishes.