The effect of crosslinking agents and reactive dyes on the fibrillation oflyocell

A yarn-on-yarn abrasion test method has been developed that is capable of e ffectively monitoring the wet abrasion of lyocell fibers. The test system i s sensitive to the effect of reactive dyes and colorless crosslinkers. Impr ovements in wet abrasion performance were observed with bifunctional and tr i-functional dyes, contrasting with the relatively ineffective non-crosslin king mono-functional dye. Colorless crosslinkers similarly improved the wet abrasion. Under the experimental conditions used in this study, the dry ya rn-on-yarn breakdown of the lyocell appeared to occur by a different mechan ism than the wet abrasion. In contrast to the beneficial effect of crosslin king on the wet abrasion, the most effective "wet" crosslinker had a delete rious effect on dry abrasion, while the less effective "wet" crosslinkers h ad less impact on dry abrasion resistance.