JP2001295178A - Treating agent for fiber, fiber construction treated with the same and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a treating agent for fibers providing a fabric having excellent light and weather resistance, and a fiber construction treated the treating agent, and to provide a method for producing the fibrous structure. SOLUTION: This treating agent for the fibers comprises a light-resistant substance and a weather-resistant substance in a supercritical fluid. The fiber construction is treated with the treating agent. Furthermore, the method for producing the fibrous structure comprises treating the fiber construction in the treating agent for the fibers.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fiber treating agent containing a light-resistant agent and / or a weather-resistant agent, a fiber structure treated with the agent, and a method for producing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to improve the light resistance and weather resistance of a fiber structure, a water-based treatment liquid in which a light-resistant agent or a weather-resistant agent is fixed to a surface with a resin, or a light-resistant agent or a weather-resistant agent is dispersed or dissolved is used. Has been used. Although such methods are easy to manufacture and provide certain benefits, the need for higher lightfastness or weatherability continues. Particularly in the case of a new synthetic fiber material using polyester microfiber which has greatly developed in recent years, the demand is high because the exhausted dye is liable to be deteriorated by reaction with light or oxygen (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-134905).
JP-A-7-118378).

[0003] However, although the prior art can provide a certain effect, it has not always been possible to obtain a satisfactory result with respect to the demand for high functions accompanying the recent trend toward higher-grade.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the background of the prior art, the present invention provides a fiber treatment agent capable of providing a fabric having better light resistance or weather resistance than the prior art, and a fiber structure treated with the fiber treatment agent. And a method for producing the same.

[0005]

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.

That is, a fiber treating agent in which a light-resistant agent and / or a weather-resistant agent is contained in a supercritical fluid or a similar fluid.

[0007] The present invention also provides a fibrous structure treated with the fiber treating agent.

Further, there is provided a method for producing a fiber structure, wherein the fiber structure is treated with a fiber treating agent containing a light-resistant agent and / or a weather-resistant agent in a supercritical fluid or a similar fluid.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the present invention, a supercritical fluid is a fluid at a temperature and pressure exceeding a critical temperature and a critical pressure. This state does not belong to either the gaseous phase or the liquid phase, and has the same mobility as gas, though the density is similar to liquid. For this reason, various drugs can be dissolved in the supercritical fluid as well as the liquid, and can be used for functional processing of the fibrous structure.

Examples of the substance used as the solvent for the supercritical fluid include carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water, ethanol, and the like. Most preferably, carbon is used. Here, the critical temperature of carbon dioxide is 31.1 ° C., and the critical pressure is 7.2 Mpa. In the present invention,
A fluid similar to a supercritical fluid can be used. The term “fluid similar to supercritical fluid” as used herein refers to a fluid that is sufficiently higher than the pressure (0.5 MPa or less) of an apparatus used in ordinary fiber processing but has not yet reached a supercritical state. Refers to those having the same action as This includes a fluid in a gas or liquid state at a high pressure of 1 Mpa or more at a temperature in the range of 0 ° C. to 150 ° C.

In the present invention, in order to enhance the action of a supercritical fluid using carbon dioxide or the like as a medium, another solvent such as methanol, ammonia or water may be further added as an entrainer.

In the present invention, the light stabilizer is a compound having an action of preventing the fiber structure from deteriorating due to ultraviolet rays contained in sunlight or the like. Further, the weathering agent is a compound having an action of preventing deterioration of the fibrous structure under a poor environment such as light irradiation at high temperature and high humidity.

The light and weathering agents used in the present invention include:
An ultraviolet absorber having absorption in the ultraviolet region and an antioxidant for suppressing an oxidation reaction are included. For example, ultraviolet absorbers include benzotriazole and 2- (2′hydroxy-5 ′).
Benzotriazoles such as (-methylphenyl) benzotriazole, hindered amines, and benzophenones. Further, for example, antioxidants include phenol-based, phosphorus-based, and thioether-based.

In the present invention, it is preferable to use a light-proofing agent and a weathering-resistant agent having a molecular weight of 400 or more from the viewpoint of firmly fixing in the fiber and greatly reducing the transfer speed to the fiber surface. In the case of a light-proofing agent or a weathering agent having a small molecular weight, even if the light-proofing agent or the weathering agent is exhausted inside the fiber, the light-proofing agent or the weathering agent easily migrates to the fiber surface due to long-term use or heat treatment and may fall off. In addition, many high-performance light-proofing agents and weathering-resistant agents have a large molecular weight in order to contain a large amount of atoms that exhibit light resistance and weathering resistance. Such a light-proofing agent having a large molecular weight and a weathering agent are hardly exhausted by a fiber structure in a normal production method, and thus cannot be used in a normal treatment method.However, in the present invention, carbon dioxide or the like is used as a medium. The use of such a supercritical fluid makes it possible to exhaust light-proofing agents and weathering agents having such a large molecular weight into the fiber structure.

Some of the light-proofing agents and weathering agents having a molecular weight of 400 or more may be able to be exhausted into the interior of the fiber structure in a carrier method in which an organic compound for relaxing the fiber structure is added to water. . However, in this carrier method,
It is difficult to obtain excellent fastness as in the present invention because the carrier easily remains inside the fiber, which lowers the color fastness and light fastness. In addition, it is very difficult at present to carry out the carrier method due to an increase in environmental problems in recent years.

In the present invention, a light-resistant agent and a weather-resistant agent containing both a portion having a function of absorbing ultraviolet light and a portion having a function of preventing oxidation in a chemical structure are preferable. The reason for this is that light and weathering agents containing both a part having the function of absorbing ultraviolet light and a part having the function of preventing oxidation can exhibit synergistic effects when both are present in the same compound. Because it is done. Examples of such compounds include compounds having both a benzotriazole moiety and a phenol moiety.

In the present invention, from the viewpoint of being easily dissolved in a supercritical fluid using carbon dioxide or the like as a medium, it is preferable that the light-proofing agent and the weathering-resistant agent are poorly water-soluble.

In the present invention, the phrase "the light-resistant agent and the weathering agent are contained in a supercritical fluid containing carbon dioxide as a medium or a fluid similar thereto" means that the light-resistant agent and the weathering agent are contained in a supercritical fluid containing carbon dioxide or the like as a medium. Or dissolved in a similar fluid,
It means that it is contained as dispersed, emulsified, etc. The present invention uses such a fluid particularly as a fiber treatment agent.

Next, a method of treating a fibrous structure using the treating agent will be described.

As the fiber structure used in the present invention, filaments, spun yarns, woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, nonwoven fabrics and the like made of at least one of natural fibers, regenerated fibers, semi-synthetic fibers and synthetic fibers can be used. As natural fibers, cotton,
Regenerated fibers such as animal wool fabric, silk and hemp; cellulosic regenerated fibers such as rayon (viscose rayon) and cupra (copper ammonia rayon); semi-synthetic fibers such as cellulose (semi-synthetic fiber) such as acetate (triacetate) and synthetic Examples of the fiber include various fibers such as polyester, nylon, acrylic, aramid, and fluorine.

Among the general-purpose fibers that require a high level of light resistance and weather resistance, polyethylene terephthalate,
Since polyester fibers such as polypropylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate are most important in practical use, it is more effective to use a polyester fiber structure containing these fibers. Here, in the polyester fiber structure, at least one of natural fibers such as cotton and wool, semi-synthetic fibers such as acetate, and other synthetic fibers such as nylon, other than those composed of only polyester fibers, is mixed with polyester fibers. , Mixed yarn, cross-twisted yarn, cross-woven or cross-knitted yarn, and the like.

In the present invention, the effect of the present invention is particularly remarkable when fibers having a single fiber fineness of 0.5 decitex or less are contained. The reason for this is that fibers with a small fineness and a large surface area tend to allow strong light to enter the interior of the fibers,
Alternatively, because the fiber surface area is large and easily oxidized, light resistance and weather fastness are often poor.
By extinguishing such fibers with a light- and / or weathering agent having a function of absorbing ultraviolet light and a function of preventing oxidation with a molecular weight of 400 or more by the method of the present invention, extremely excellent light resistance, Weather resistance can be imparted to the fibrous structure.

As the fiber having a single fiber fineness of 0.5 decitex or less, a fiber produced by a direct spinning method or a fiber obtained by eluting and splitting a part of a fiber produced by a composite spinning method may be used. it can. A fiber structure containing fibers having a single fiber fineness of 0.5 decitex or less is a combination of fibers having a single fiber fineness of 0.5 decitex or less and fibers having a normal fiber size of about 2 to 10 decitex, and a single fiber fineness of 0 or less. .5
Fibers having a decitex or less and high shrinkage yarn are used in combination, and fibers having a single fiber fineness of 0.5 decitex or less and natural fibers are used in combination.

By treating the fiber structure with a fiber treating agent containing a light-resistant agent and / or a weathering agent contained in a supercritical fluid or a fluid similar thereto, the chemical agent is contained inside the fibers constituting the fiber structure. Exhaust. Since this treating agent uses a supercritical fluid containing carbon dioxide or the like as a medium or a fluid similar to the supercritical fluid, even a light-proofing agent or a weathering agent having a molecular weight of 400 or more can be efficiently exhausted into the fiber. The reason for this is that supercritical fluids such as carbon dioxide or similar fluids are swelled by the supercritical fluid being exhausted in large quantities by the polymer constituting the fiber, causing the polymer to swell and the fiber structure to be relaxed. It is considered that the light-resistant agent and the weather-resistant agent easily diffuse into the fiber.

In the present invention, in order to obtain a sufficient ultraviolet absorbing ability or antioxidant ability, it is preferable that the light-extracting agent and / or the weathering agent have an exhaustion rate of 3% or more into the fiber structure.

In particular, when a supercritical fluid containing carbon dioxide as a medium and a fluid similar thereto are used, the solubility of the contained light-resistant agent and weather-resistant agent can be significantly changed by changing the temperature and pressure. By utilizing this property, the light-resistant agent and the weather-resistant agent can be more efficiently exhausted into the fiber structure.

That is, at the beginning of the treatment step, the conditions are such that as much of the light-proofing agent and weathering agent are dissolved in the supercritical fluid as possible. It changes to conditions that are difficult to dissolve and easily migrate into the fiber. As an example of such a method, in a later stage of the treatment process, by lowering the pressure from the initial stage, the solubility of the light-resistant agent and the weather-resistant agent in the supercritical fluid is reduced, and the transfer into the fiber is promoted. be able to.

The term "late stage" of the processing step means a period from when the pressure becomes maximum during the processing to when the processing is completed. The processing temperature at that time is preferably maximized at the same time when the pressure is maximized.

In the present invention, a dye is further added to the fiber treating agent containing a light-resistant agent and / or a weather-resistant agent, so that
Dyeing can be performed simultaneously with functional processing for imparting weather resistance. By using this method, the process of treating the fibrous structure can be further shortened, which is very advantageous in terms of improving production efficiency and reducing energy consumption.

In the present invention, the fiber structure is treated with a treating agent containing a light-proofing agent and / or a weathering agent. The fiber structure is filled in an apparatus, and a medium such as carbon dioxide is injected into the apparatus. The supercritical fluid or similar fluid may be contained in a supercritical fluid or a similar fluid, in a state where the supercritical fluid is at or near the critical state. It is preferable to provide another tank in addition to the processing tank in order to include the light-resistant agent and / or the weather-resistant agent in the supercritical fluid or a similar fluid.

In the present invention, in order to perform the functional processing more efficiently, the apparatus for filling the fibrous structure is a facility for circulating a supercritical fluid or a similar fluid, a facility for circulating the fibrous structure, or a facility for circulating the fibrous structure. It is preferable to have both. Here, in order to circulate the supercritical fluid or a similar fluid, a pipe for injecting the fluid into a vessel filled with the fibrous structure and a pipe for discharging the fluid may be attached, and the pipes may be connected and driven. Further, in order to circulate the fibrous structure, a supercritical fluid or a similar fluid is caused to flow in a container filled with the fibrous structure to rotate the fibrous structure.

The pressure of a supercritical fluid or a similar fluid using carbon dioxide or the like as a medium is preferably 10 Mpa or more, from the viewpoint of increasing the solubility of a light-fast agent and a weather-resistant agent.
Mpa or more is more preferable. Further, the temperature of the supercritical fluid or a fluid similar thereto is preferably 80 ° C. or higher, and 110 ° C., from the viewpoint of keeping the exhaustion rate of the light-proofing agent and the weathering agent high.
The above is more preferable.

Further, in the present invention, when the light-proofing agent and the weathering agent which are not exhausted by the fiber remain in the treating agent, the light-proofing agent and the weathering agent may adhere to the fiber surface to lower the quality. In order to prevent this, it is desirable that after the functional processing, the fiber structure is treated with a supercritical fluid or a similar fluid for a certain period of time without containing the light-resistant agent and the weather-resistant agent and without drawing out the light-resistant agent and the weather-resistant agent from the fibrous structure. As described above, the conditions under which the light-resistant agent and the weather-resistant agent are not extracted from the fiber structure may be such that the processing pressure is set to MPa or less and the processing temperature is set to 60 ° C. or less using carbon dioxide as a medium.

In the present invention, as a method for confirming that the light-resistant agent and the weather-resistant agent have been exhausted into the single fibers constituting the fiber structure, the ultraviolet absorption spectrum of the treated fiber structure is observed. do it.

The light resistance and weather resistance of the treated fiber structure are evaluated, for example, according to JISL 0841-L.
Fastness test methods such as light fastness specified in 0843,
Alternatively, an evaluation using a weather resistance tester described in JISB7754 may be used. Since the evaluation of light resistance and weather resistance has a high correlation, it is usually practically sufficient to conduct only the light fastness test.

[0036]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below more specifically with reference to examples.

The measurements in the examples and comparative examples were performed by the following methods. <Measurement of Weight Gain> The absolute dry weight of the sample before and after the treatment was measured and calculated by the following equation.

Weight increase rate (%) = 100 × (W1-W0) / W0 W0: Absolute dry weight of sample before treatment (g) W1: Absolute dry weight of sample after treatment (g) <Light fastness> Using a standard ultraviolet long life fade meter manufactured by Suga Test Instruments Co., Ltd., irradiate ultraviolet rays for 200 hours at a black panel temperature of 83 ± 3 ° C., and evaluate the degree of discoloration in a gray scale (grade) between 1 and 5 grades. Judged. [Example 1] C.I. I. Disperse Red 60
Polyethylene terephthalate taffeta cloth (cloth after intermediate setting at 180 ° C., yarn use: both warp and weft: 83 dtex, 36 multifilaments, woven density: 98 × 84 weft / inch, basis weight: 70 g / m ² )
After filling 10 g into a high-pressure container having an internal volume of 500 ml, the temperature was raised to 40 ° C. while injecting carbon dioxide into the container. Further, carbon dioxide was continuously injected while maintaining the temperature, and the pressure was adjusted to 20 Mpa.

Next, 2- [2'hydroxy-3 ', 5'-bis (α, α-dimethylbenzyl) was added as a light-proofing agent to another high-pressure vessel having an internal volume of 100 ml connected to the high-pressure vessel.
Phenyl] benzotriazole (molecular weight 447) was added to 0.1.
After filling 5 g, the temperature was similarly set to 40 ° C. and the pressure was set to 20 Mp.
a. Thereafter, the valve between the high-pressure container filled with the fibrous structure and the high-pressure container filled with the light-proof agent is opened, and 2
The circulation pump connected to the two containers was activated to introduce the lightproofing agent into the container filled with the fibrous structure.

Then, the temperature was raised to 130 ° C., and after maintaining the condition for 30 minutes, carbon dioxide was gradually discharged in the next 30 minutes. Furthermore, in order to wash the light-resistant agent attached to the fiber surface, carbon dioxide was again injected into the two containers,
The circulation pump was started under the condition of 20 Mpa, and the treatment was performed for 10 minutes. After that, this fabric is supposed to have a finishing set of 16
Heat treatment was performed at 0 ° C. for 1 minute.

The weight increase rate of the sample by this treatment was 4.0%. Further, when the ultraviolet absorption spectrum of the sample was observed, the ultraviolet absorption of the light-resistant agent was confirmed, and the drug was exhausted inside the fiber. It was recognized that.
In addition, when a light fastness test was performed, the evaluation was very good at 5th grade. [Comparative Example 1] The same fabric as in Example 1 was treated by the same production method using water as a medium, using the same chemicals. The weight of the fabric is 10 g, the weight of the light stabilizer is 0.5 g, and the liquid amount is 5 g.
The processing was performed at 130 ° C. for 60 minutes.

The rate of weight increase of the treated sample is 0.7%
Observation of the ultraviolet absorption spectrum did not show any exhaustion of the light-fast agent into the fiber. In addition, when a light fastness test was performed, the evaluation was inferior in class 3. [Example 2] 6- (2-benzotriazolyl) -4-t-octyl-6'-t-butyl-4'-methyl-2,2'-methylenebisphenol (molecular weight 500) is used as a light and weathering agent. Other than that, it carried out similarly to Example 1.

The weight increase of the treated sample is 3.8%.
By observing the ultraviolet absorption spectrum of the sample, it was confirmed that the light- and weather-resistant agent had ultraviolet absorption, and that the agent had been exhausted inside the fiber. In addition, when a light fastness test was performed, the evaluation was very good at 5th grade. [Comparative Example 2] 6- (2-benzotriazolyl) -4-t-octyl-6'-t-butyl-4'-methyl-2,2'-methylenebisphenol (molecular weight 500) is used as a light-proofing agent and a weathering agent. Other than that, it carried out similarly to the comparative example 1.

The rate of weight increase of the treated sample is 0.3%
Observation of the ultraviolet absorption spectrum did not show any drug exhaustion into the fiber. In addition, when a light fastness test was performed, the evaluation was inferior in class 3. Example 3 Plain woven fabric using polyethylene terephthalate fiber having a single fiber fineness of 0.47 dtex as a fiber structure (fabric after 180 ° C intermediate setting, use of yarn: warp and weft: total fineness 67 dtex, 144 multifilament, woven Density: 110 × 90 90 / inch, weight: 6
0 g / m ² ), except that 0 g / m ² ) was used.

The rate of weight increase of the treated sample is 3.9%
By observing the ultraviolet absorption spectrum of the sample, it was confirmed that the light- and weather-resistant agent had ultraviolet absorption, and that the agent had been exhausted inside the fiber. In addition, when a light fastness test was performed, the evaluation was very good at 5th grade. [Comparative Example 3] Plain woven fabric using a polyethylene terephthalate fiber having a single-fiber fineness of 0.47 dtex as a fiber structure (fabric after intermediate setting at 180 ° C, use of yarn: total fineness 67 dtex for both warp and weft, 144 multifilament, woven Density: longitude 110 × latitude 90 / inch, basis weight: 60
g / m ² ), except that g / m ² ) was used.

The rate of weight increase of the treated sample is 0.3%
Observation of the ultraviolet absorption spectrum did not show any drug exhaustion into the fiber. In addition, when a light fastness test was performed, the evaluation was inferior in class 3.

[0047]

According to the present invention, a high-performance light and weathering agent can be used for functional processing of a fiber structure, and a fiber structure having extremely excellent light resistance and weather resistance can be obtained. In particular, the present invention is effective for a fibrous structure composed of fibers having a small single-fiber fineness, which tends to decrease in fastness.

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3B154 AA02 AA07 AA08 AA12 AB20 AB21 AB22 BB02 BB05 BB12 BB32 BC01 BD15 BD20 BE04 BF07 BF30 DA15 DA30 4L031 AA18 AB01 BA02 BA08 DA00 DA18 4L033 AB09 AC15 BA55 BA98 DA06

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A fiber treating agent comprising a light-resistant agent and / or a weather-resistant agent contained in a supercritical fluid or a similar fluid. 2. The fiber treating agent according to claim 1, wherein the supercritical fluid or a fluid similar thereto uses carbon dioxide as a medium. 3. The fiber treating agent according to claim 1, wherein the light-resistant agent and / or the weather-resistant agent has a molecular weight of 400 or more. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the chemical structure of the light-resistant agent and / or the weather-resistant agent contains both a portion having a function of absorbing ultraviolet light and a portion having a function of preventing oxidation. The fiber treating agent according to the above. 5. A fibrous structure which is treated with the treating agent for fibers according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The exhaustion rate of the light-resistant agent and / or weather-resistant agent is 3
%. 7. A method for producing a fiber structure, comprising treating a fiber structure with a fiber treating agent containing a light-resistant agent and / or a weather-resistant agent in a supercritical fluid or a similar fluid. 8. The method for producing a fibrous structure according to claim 7, wherein said supercritical fluid or a similar fluid uses carbon dioxide as a medium. 9. The method for producing a fiber structure according to claim 7, wherein the light-resistant agent and / or the weather-resistant agent has a molecular weight of 400 or more. 10. The chemical structure of the light-resistant agent and / or the weather-resistant agent contains both a portion having a function of absorbing ultraviolet rays and a portion having a function of preventing oxidation.
The method for producing a fiber structure according to any one of the above. 11. The method for producing a fiber structure according to claim 7, wherein said fiber structure is made of polyester. 12. The method for producing a fiber structure according to claim 7, wherein said fiber structure contains fibers having a single fiber fineness of 0.5 decitex or less. 13. The method according to claim 7, wherein the pressure is reduced at a later stage of the treatment.
13. The method for producing a fibrous structure according to any one of claims to 12.