A study of the feasibility of wool bonded polyurethane for sportswear applications

This study investigates if surface modification, in conjunction with thermal transfer, will improve the adhesion of polyurethane films onto a wool fabric surface for sportswear application. Atmospheric pressure plasma and hydrogen peroxide treatments were used to enhance the surface energy of the wool fabric. Polyurethane polymer films were transferred onto the surface of treated fabrics using a hot press method. The effectiveness of different treatments to improve the adhesion of the film onto the wool surface was tested by washing fastness and the stretch recovery of polyurethane bonded fabrics. The results confirmed improvement on adhesion properties of wool bonded fabrics after different treatments.