Introduction to Viscose Fabric
Viscose fabric is a regenerated cellulosic fiber made through the viscose process, which involves treating wood pulp with caustic soda and carbon disulfide to form a viscous solution that is extruded into an acid bath to regenerate the cellulose fibers. The resulting fibers are versatile, breathable, and have a soft, silk-like feel, making them suitable for various textile applications.
Production Process of Viscose Fabric
- Raw Material Preparation: Wood pulp or cotton linters are treated with sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide to form cellulose xanthate.
- Viscose Solution: The cellulose xanthate is dissolved in sodium hydroxide to form a viscous, golden-colored viscose solution.
- Spinning: The viscose solution passes through spinnerets into an acid bath, where it coagulates and regenerates into cellulose fibers.
- Stretching and Cutting: The fibers are stretched to increase orientation and crystallinity, then cut into staple fibers or kept as filaments.
- Washing and Finishing: The fibers are washed, treated with finishes, and dried for processing into yarns and fabrics.
- Fabric Formation: Viscose fibers are spun into yarns and woven or knitted into fabrics using techniques like tight spinning and vortex spinning.
Properties of Viscose Fabric
- Moisture Absorption and Breathability: Viscose fibers have excellent moisture absorption and wicking properties, similar to natural cotton fibers. This makes viscose fabrics comfortable to wear and suitable for activewear and summer clothing.
- Drape and Softness: Viscose fabrics have a luxurious drape and a soft, smooth texture, resembling silk. This makes them ideal for clothing, furnishings, and other applications where a soft, comfortable feel is desired.
- Dyeability: Viscose fibers can be easily dyed with a wide range of dyes, allowing for vibrant and long-lasting colors. This makes viscose fabrics suitable for various fashion and home textile applications.
- Versatility: Viscose fibers blend with other fibers like cotton, polyester, or elastane, creating fabrics with enhanced properties like strength, wrinkle resistance, or stretch.
- Functional Finishes: Viscose fabrics can receive functional finishes, adding properties like antimicrobial protection, flame retardancy, or moisture management, expanding their applications.
Types of Viscose Fabric
- Plain viscose fabric: Basic viscose fabric without additional treatments
- Blended viscose fabric: Blended with other fibers like cotton, polyester, or silk
- Patterned viscose fabric: Printed or woven with patterns and designs
- Functional viscose fabric: Treated for specific properties like antimicrobial, flame retardant, or moisture-wicking
Common Issues and Maintenance Tips of Viscose Fabric
Common Issues
- Low Wet Strength: Viscose fabrics exhibit poor strength when wet due to the splitting of hydrogen bonds between fibers. This issue is more pronounced with higher viscose fiber content in the fabric.
- Reduced Durability: Viscose fabrics tend to have lower overall strength compared to natural fibers like cotton, leading to reduced durability and longevity.
- Wrinkling and Creasing: Viscose fabrics are prone to wrinkling and creasing, which can affect the appearance and comfort of garments.
- Environmental Impact: The manufacturing process of viscose fibers can create significant pollution if not properly managed.
Maintenance Tips
- Gentle Washing: Wash viscose gently, by hand or delicate cycle, using mild detergents and cool water to prevent shrinkage or damage.
- Avoid Bleaching: Avoid bleaching viscose, as bleach weakens and discolors fibers. Opt for oxygen-based bleaches if necessary.
- Air Drying: Machine drying can cause shrinkage and wrinkles. Reshape damp garments and lay flat to dry.
- Iron on Low Heat: Use low heat and a pressing cloth when ironing viscose to avoid scorching or shining the fabric.
- Proper Storage: Store viscose garments in a cool, dry place away from sunlight to prevent fading and deterioration.
- Blending with Stronger Fibers: Blend viscose with stronger fibers like polyester or nylon to improve fabric durability and strength.
Applications of Viscose Fabric
- Apparel Industry: It is used for clothing like dresses, shirts, and lingerie due to its soft, breathable, and comfortable nature.
- Home Furnishings: It is used in furniture upholstery, curtains, and bedding for its draping qualities and affordability.
- Industrial Textiles: Viscose fabric’s durability and cost-effectiveness make it suitable for workwear, protective clothing, and linings.
- Medical and Hygiene Products: It is used for bandages, surgical gowns, and sanitary products due to its absorbency and hypoallergenic properties.
- Functional Textiles: It can be modified for specialized uses, like sportswear and protective clothing, by adding antimicrobial or moisture-wicking properties.
- Blended Fabrics: Viscose blends with other fibers to create fabrics with enhanced properties like strength, wrinkle resistance, and moisture management.
Application Cases
| Product/Project | Technical Outcomes | Application Scenarios |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-pilling Viscose Fabric Weiqiao Textile Co., Ltd. | Improves anti-pilling performance, solving issues like stiff hand feeling and unclear twist lines. | High-durability clothing and textiles requiring enhanced longevity. |
| Wetlaid Web Viscose Fabric Kelheim Fibres GmbH | Incorporates microfibrillated cellulose for improved wet strength and durability. | Non-woven fabrics and paper products requiring enhanced wet strength. |
| Simultaneous Dyeing and Finishing Viscose Fabric | Enhanced color value, crease recovery angle, and other properties through simultaneous dyeing and finishing treatments. | Textiles requiring high-quality dyeing and finishing, such as fashion and home textiles. |
| Silk Fibroin/Nano-Silver Sol Finished Viscose Fabric | Improved antibacterial rate, antistatic performance, and mechanical properties. | Medical textiles and hygiene products requiring antibacterial properties. |
| Silver-Loaded Viscose Fabric | Enhanced antibacterial durability and air permeability. | Healthcare and hygiene products requiring high antibacterial performance and breathability. |
Latest Technical Innovations in Viscose Fabric
Improved Anti-Pilling Performance
A new type of viscose fabric with enhanced anti-pilling performance has been developed by combining tight spinning and vortex spinning techniques. The composite design reduces the contact surface of the fabric, applying a surface groove reduction effect to improve the resistance to pilling.
Functional Finishing Treatments
Various functional finishing treatments have been explored for viscose fabrics, including:
- Wash-n-wear and silicone finishing for improved durability and softness.
- Antimicrobial finishing using nano metal oxides (aluminum, zinc, or titanium oxides) loaded onto the fabric pretreated with 3-bromopropionic acid, providing durable antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi.
- Silk fibroin/nano-silver sol finishing, enhancing antibacterial, antistatic, moisture regain, and wrinkle recovery properties.
Flame Retardant Viscose
Washable flame retardant viscose fabrics have been developed by introducing flame retardants, hyperbranched nanocellulose, and dispersants into the spinning dope before fiber formation. This process ensures a high residual rate of the flame retardants in the final fibers.
Thermal Energy Storage
Viscose fabrics have been coated with phase change materials (PCMs) like polyethylene glycol blended with metal particles (copper, aluminum, silver, iron, or zinc) to enhance thermal energy storage capacity and thermal conductivity for potential applications in thermal management.
Sustainable Production Processes
Efforts have been made to develop more sustainable and environmentally friendly production processes for viscose fabrics, such as using efficient and green silver-loaded viscose fabrics prepared by a simple liquid phase spray deposition method, reducing environmental impact.
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