Abstract:

In this work, a kind of hydroxypropyl ether quaternary ammonium salt, namely HEQA-C12, was synthesized by quaternization reaction using butoxy chlorinated glycerol ether （BCGE） and N, N-dimethyldodecylamine as raw materials. Then it was used as an antibacterial agent and treated onto hemp fabric by impregnation-baking process. The successful synthesis of HEQA-C12 was confirmed by FT-IR and ¹H NMR, and the changes in the properties of fabrics after finishing with different mass concentrations of HEQA-C12 （0-20 g/L） were systematically studied. The results showed that HEQA-C12 could increase the contact angle of fabric from 35.2° to 94.5°, indicating that the surface was changed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The results of XRD showed that the finishing did not change the crystal structure of cellulose but slightly reduced the crystallinity. The results of SEM indicated that a coating layer with continuous and uniform surface could be formed at HEQA-C12 concentration of 15 g/L. The antistatic performance was significantly improved, with the electrostatic half-life shortened from 66.4 s to 15.2 s and the peak voltage reduced from 1 587 V to 999 V. It showed excellent antibacterial performance, with the highest inhibition rates against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus reaching 100% and 99.9%, respectively, and it showed obvious concentration-dependent and species-specific mechanisms of action. This work confirmed that HEQA-C12 was an efficient multifunctional finishing agent, which could provide excellent hydrophobic, antistatic and antibacterial properties for hemp fabric at mass concentration of 15 g/L.

Key words: antibacterial agent, quaternary ammonium salt, hemp fabric, antibacterial performance, finishing performance, antistatic