Effect of Antioxidant and SiO2 Combination on Linen Fabrics

Antioxidants, which are effective in reducing the color change in the material by the effect of visible light and oxygen, were applied to linen fabric by an innovative finishing process, sol-gel technique. Antioxidants and silica sols were combined to make the color of the fabric more stable to light. The silica sol was obtained using TEOS (tetraethyl ortosilicate) and GPTS [(3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane] as precursor and combined with aqueous solutions of gallic acid and L-ascorbic acid. When the images obtained by SEM analysis were examined, it was found that antioxidant added silica sol solutions have changed the surface morphology of the flax fibers. It has been found that gallic acid added silica sol solution was effective on improving the light fastness of the blue fabrics. Wear resistance results indicated that the addition of cross-linker in SiO2 containing solution made xerogel a protective coat for linen fabrics.