Controlled micro-scale ink droplet spreading on cotton fabrics via cellulose-based coatings for greener textile inkjet printing

• Published in: Industrial crops and products 2024-07, Vol.213, p.118488, Article 118488
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jianjun, Zhao, Hongzhi, Wang, Mengyue, Fang, Kuanjun, Song, Yawei, Liu, Qingbao, Chen, Weichao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cellulose; Cotton; Ink spreading; Inkjet printing; Reactive dyes
• ISSN: 0926-6690; 1872-633X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2024.118488

Inkjet printing of cotton fabric is considered a cleaner, efficient and revolutionary technology in textile coloration industry. However, due to the good hydrophilicity of cotton fibers, ink droplet spreading was difficult to be prevented, causing the problems of poor image resolution, low dye utilization efficiency and reduced product quality. Hence, in this study, cellulose-based coatings were fabricated on the cotton surface to adjust the surface hydrophilicity and prevent ink droplet spreading. Results showed that, cellulose derivatives like hydroxypropyl cellulose (CMHPC) and hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose (HEMC) could form continuous and uniform cellulose film coatings on fiber surface. Because there are fewer hydrophilic side groups in HEMC structure, the hydrophilicity of cotton fabric and the ink spreading was effectively controlled. From microscope observation, the spreading lengths of a single droplet were significantly decreased by HEMC from 276.27 to 66.95 μm. The K/S values representing color depth were improved from 9.44 to 19.41. Furthermore, industrial application was conducted to verify the laboratory results, showing that higher image quality was obtained in practical application using HEMC. This work provides a more potential and greener application of cellulose-based coatings to promote the development of textile inkjet printing. •An efficient method to improve the inkjet printing quality of cotton fabrics was proposed.•The diffusion and penetration of ink droplets on fabrics are effectively controlled.•Cellulose derivatives are cheap and come from a wide range of sources.•This method can be applied to industrial applications.