1. What is a textile softener
Textile softener refers to a textile auxiliaries that can adsorb on the surface of textile fibers and smooth the fibers to change the hand feel and make the product more comfortable. At present, there are thousands of softeners developed on the market, and many of them are surfactant-type softeners, reactive softeners, and silicone softeners. Among them, silicone softener is a kind of softener with superior performance, outstanding effect and wide application. This type of softener is an emulsion or microemulsion of polysiloxane and its derivatives, which not only makes the fabric soft and smooth, but also has good breathability, surface gloss, wear resistance and wearing comfort. Water repellent, anti-ultraviolet and other functions; in addition, these materials are non-toxic and harmless, friendly to human body and environment, low cost, suitable for the finishing of different textiles (natural fibers, synthetic fibers, blended fibers, etc.), and have broad application prospects .

2.The development history of textile softeners

Silicone softener originated in the 1950s, and its development has gone through four stages.

The first generation of silicone softener: Dimethicone oil is emulsified by mechanical emulsification method, but because the silicone oil itself does not contain active groups, the combination with the fabric is not fast enough, and it is not resistant to washing. The effect of using it alone is not ideal, so it is rarely used as a softener now, but dimethicone emulsion is still widely used in other fields, such as: shampoo softener, mold release agent, etc.; hydroxyl silicone oil, silicone headed with hydroxyl Emulsion, under the action of metal catalysis, the softener can form a network crosslink on the surface of the fabric, which enhances the washing resistance, and improves the stability and softening effect. The disadvantage is that it has been replaced by the second-generation silicone softener before industrial application.

The second-generation silicone softener: amino-hydrocarbyl modified silicone oil, referred to as amino-silicone oil, can be regarded as the product of partial methyl groups (including lateral and terminal positions) in dimethyl silicone oil being replaced by amino-hydrocarbyl groups. In addition to retaining the original hydrophobicity and mold release properties of dimethyl silicone oil, the presence of amino hydrocarbon groups can also give it reactivity, adsorption, lubricity and softness, etc., so it is used in fabric softening finishing agents, polishing agents. , paint additives and resin modifiers have been widely used, and become the largest variety of carbon-functional silicone oils.

The third-generation silicone softener: that is, polyether-modified amino silicone oil, which refers to the hydrosilation addition reaction of side-chain hydrogen-containing silicone oil with allyl epoxy compounds and allyl polyethers to obtain side-chain polysiloxanes. The intermediate of ether epoxy silicone oil, and then the organic amine is used for ammonia dissociation ring-opening reaction to obtain polyether modified amino silicone oil. After the treatment, the fabric is not only soft and smooth, but also has excellent hygroscopicity.

Fourth-generation silicone softener: block-modified silicone oil. It has been greatly improved in terms of softness, washability, elasticity and hydrophilicity, which meets the various needs of users for fabrics, and has become the mainstream direction of the development of silicone softeners.

3. Block Modified Silicone Oil

The block silicone oil can cross-link with some substances with similar functional groups and other functional groups to form a network structure, forming a film on the fiber, and because the amino group in the block silicone oil is polar, it is easy for some of the fibers on the fiber. The functional groups interact, so that the main chain of the block silicone oil is fixed on the surface of the fiber in a certain direction, so that the film formed by the block silicone oil is well anchored on the fiber of the fabric.

This layer of film has a good protective effect on the fabric, reduces the friction coefficient between fibers, provides various excellent properties to the fabric, and greatly enhances the washability of silicone oil. Block silicone oil is a non-toxic and non-polluting green chemical product, which has been widely used in the textile industry.