Eliminating the hairiness of ramie fabrics by micro-dissolution technology in copper ammonia solution

Ramie is of low cost, non-toxic, degradable but the use of ramie in garments manufacturing is limited due to a large amount of hairiness bringing scratchiness to skin. Herein, a facile and efficient surface micro-dissolution technology was used to eliminate the hairiness of ramie fabrics. SEM, Mirrorless Digital Camera, FTIR, XRD, and TG were used to investigate the morphology and structure of treated ramie fabrics. Softness, hydrophilicity, breaking strength, whiteness, moisture absorption, dye uptake, and air permeability were also studied. The results proved that surface micro-dissolution technology eliminate hairiness effectively while its physical properties were retained. In particular, the softness of the fabric was well maintained, which makes it suitable for clothing production. The surface micro-dissolution technology of ramie fabric based on copper ammonia solution system has the advantages of short treatment time and low process requirements, which provides a new idea for improving the wearability of ramie fabric.