Surface modification and bleaching of pigmented wool

We treat naturally pigmented karakul wool with a surface modification syste m of chlorination and catalytic bleaching, then examine its structure and p roperties. SEM photos reveal the surface morphology of karakul wool, and th e Allworden reaction shows the extent of damage to the epicuticle. The resu lts show that the surface modification removes the bulk of the fiber scales and bleaching increases fiber whiteness. After bleaching, the felting prop ensity of karakul woof improves slightly and its dye uptake decreases. For modified and bleached karakul wool, the felting propensity decreases, the d yeing rate increases, and equilibrium exhaustion decreases compared with un treated karakul wool.