ANTISTATIC SOFTENING COMPOSITION
United States Patent 3862045
An antistatic fabric softening composition comprising the following four ingredients (I) to (IV): I. 4 - 10% by weight of a quaternary ammonium salt having two long-chain alkyl groups having 16 to 22 carbon atoms; Ii. 0.5 - 3.0% by weight of at least one antistatic agent selected from compounds expressed by the following formula ##SPC1## Wherein R1 is an alkyl group having 14 to 22 carbon atoms, R2 stands for an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms of a benzyl group, X designates Cl, Br or C2 H5 SO4, and the sum of m and n is from 5 to 20, And compounds expressed by the following formula ##SPC2## Wherein R3 is an alkyl group having 16 to 22 carbon atoms, R4 and R5 stand independently for an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, and p is a number of from 1 to 4; Iii. 0.5 - 2.0% by weight of at least one non-ionic surfactant containing an alkyl group having 8 to 18 carbon atoms and having 40 - 90 moles of ethylene oxide units; and Iv. 2 - 10% by weight of at least one additive selected from the group consisting of alcohols having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, glycols having 2 to 3 carbon atoms, glycerol, sorbitol and urea.
US Patent References:
/3578592.html
Pontelandolfo - May 1971 - 3578592
/3681241.html
Rudy - August 1972 - 3681241
/3703480.html
Grand et al. - November 1972 - 3703480
/3756950.html
Gluck - September 1973 - 3756950
/3578592.html
Pontelandolfo - May 1971 - 3578592
/3681241.html
Rudy - August 1972 - 3681241
/3703480.html
Grand et al. - November 1972 - 3703480
/3756950.html
Gluck - September 1973 - 3756950
Inventors:
Sato, Toshio (Wakayama, JA)
Katsumi, Mamoru (Wakayama, JA)
Tsuda, Natsuko (Wakayama, JA)
Yoshida, Akira (Wakayama, JA)
Katsumi, Mamoru (Wakayama, JA)
Tsuda, Natsuko (Wakayama, JA)
Yoshida, Akira (Wakayama, JA)
Application Number:
05/304859
Publication Date:
01/21/1975
Filing Date:
11/08/1972
View Patent Images:
Export Citation:
Assignee:
Kao Soap Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo, JA)
Primary Class:
Other Classes:
510/525
International Classes:
D06M13/342; D06M13/372; D06M13/46; D06M13/00; D06M13/46
Field of Search:
8/187,188 252/8.6,8.75,8.8,8.9,545,547
Primary Examiner:
Lechert Jr., Stephen J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
Woodhams, Blanchard And Flynn
Claims:
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows
1. An antistatic fabric softening composition comprising the following four ingredients (I) to (IV), and the balance consists essentially of water:
2. An antistatic softening composition according to claim 1, in which said quaternary ammonium salt is selected from distearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride and di-halogenated-tallowalkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride.
3. An antistatic softening composition according to claim 1, in which said non-ionic surfactant (III) is selected from the compounds represented by the following formulas:
4. An antistatic softening composition according to claim 1, in which said additive (IV) is selected from the group of propylene glycol, glycerine and urea.
1. An antistatic fabric softening composition comprising the following four ingredients (I) to (IV), and the balance consists essentially of water:
2. An antistatic softening composition according to claim 1, in which said quaternary ammonium salt is selected from distearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride and di-halogenated-tallowalkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride.
3. An antistatic softening composition according to claim 1, in which said non-ionic surfactant (III) is selected from the compounds represented by the following formulas:
4. An antistatic softening composition according to claim 1, in which said additive (IV) is selected from the group of propylene glycol, glycerine and urea.
Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a fabric softening composition which is stable even at high concentrations and which imparts an excellent antistatic property.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Softening agents have heretofore been used frequently as finishing agents for textile fabrics. They are utilized mainly for finishing underwears and diapers after washing thereof to impart soft touch to these textile fabrics. Important properties required of softening agents are as follows.
A. They impart a soft touch or feeling to treated textile fabrics.
B. They impart an antistatic property to treated textile fabrics.
C. They do not reduce water absorption of treated textile fabrics.
D. Even in the form of concentrated liquid fabric softener solutions, they are stable at the temperature encountered during the marketing process and during the laundering process and they can maintain low viscosity under such environmental changes.
Among the above properties, the property (a) should naturally be required at first and is most important among the above properties. However, also each of properties (b) to (d) has a great significance in actual applications.
Fabric softening agents of various compositions are known in the art, but most of them comprise as a main ingredient a quaternary ammonium salt having two long-chain alkyl groups.
In some instances, non-ionic surfactants such as alkylphenol-ethylene oxide adducts and solvents such as alcohols and/or glycols are added to such main ingredient so as to improve the solution stability and other properties. Although fabric softening agents of known compositions can give satisfactory softening effects, any of them fails to exhibit sufficient effects with respect to properties (b) to (d), especially antistatic property and stability.
Consumption of clothes and garments composed of synthetic fibers has recently increased very rapidly, but clothes of synthetic fibers are fatally defective in, that they are readily statically charged as compared with clothes of natural fibers. When the fabrics are statically charged, they tend to catch dust thereon very easily or cling to the body, or tend to generate sparks on wearing or undressing. It is well known that these undesired phenomena caused by accumulation of static charges are great disadvantages of clothes and garments of synthetic fibers.
It is necessary to solve the problem that liquid softeners frequently undergo phase separation and have a tendency to be very viscous under various climate and temperature conditions unless the active softening ingredients are present only in low concentrations. Further, it is also required that softening agents are hardly frozen or solidified at temperatures around the freezing point and, if they become frozen or become extremely viscous at these low temperatures, they must readily recover their original viscosities when the temperature is returned to room temperature.
In order to impart antistatic activity to a fabric softening agent, it may at first be considered to incorporate into the composition an antistatic agent. However, when for instance, stearyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, which is an antistatic agent broadly used, is incorporated into a fabric softening agent comprising as a main ingredient a quaternary ammonium salt having two long-chain alkyl groups, an antistatic effect may be attained, but the stability of an aqueous solution of the agent is extremely lowered, with the result that the agent is no longer applicable to practical use. Further, the incorporation of such antistatic agent is accompanied with a disadvantage that discoloration or quenching of fluorescence is brought about in the case of clothes treated with an anionic direct dye or an anionic fluorescent dye. Further, even if such softening agent comprising the above quaternary ammonium salt and an antistatic agent is incorporated with a known solution stabilizer comprising an alkylphenol-ethylene oxide adduct or other similar non-ionic surfactant and a solvent such as alcohols and glycols, the resulting composition is still inferior in the solution stability. On the other hand, when other well-known anti-static agents are employed, the resulting compositions are more or less defective in the point of antistatic performance, solution stability, yellow discoloration of solutions and so on, and they cannot be applied to practical use. As a result of research works made with a view to developing an antistatic softening composition free of the above-mentioned defects, we have found that when a specific antistatic agent is incorporated into a specific softening composition, the above defects can be overcome, and based on this finding we have arrived at this invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, this invention provides a softening composition which exhibits an excellent softening effect to fabrics and a sufficient solution stability even at a high concentration and which can impart an excellent antistatic property to the treated textile fabrics. In accordance with this invention, there is provided an antistatic softening composition comprising the following four ingredients (I) to (IV):
I. 4 - 10 percent by weight of a quaternary ammonium salt having two long-chain alkyl groups having 16 to 22 carbon atoms;
Ii. 0.5 - 3.0 percent by weight of at least one antistatic agent selected from compounds expressed by the following formula ##SPC3##
wherein R 1 is an alkyl group having 14 to 22 carbon atoms, R 2 stands for an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms or a benzyl group, X designates Cl, Br or C 2 H 5 SO 4 , and the sum of m and n is from 5 to 20,
and compounds expressed by the following formula ##SPC4##
wherein R 3 is an alkyl group havnig 16 to 22 carbon atoms, R 4 and R 5 stand independently for an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, and p is a number of from 1 to 4; having
Iii. 0.5 - 2.0 percent by weight of at least one non-ionic surfactant containing an alkyl group having 8 to 18 carbon atoms and having 40 - 90 moles of ethylene oxide units; and
Iv. 2 - 10 percent by weight of at least one additive selected from the group consisting of alcohols having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, glycols having 2 to 3 carbon atoms, glycerol, sorbitol and urea.
The balance of the composition is water.
Now, description will be made on preferred compounds.
As the quaternary ammonium salt (I), there may be preferably mentioned distearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride and di-halogenated-tallowalkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride. Preferable examples of the non-ionic surfactant (III) include R 6 O(CH 2 CH 2 O) m H (in which R 6 is an alkyl group having 12 to 18 carbon atoms), ##SPC5##
(in which R 7 is an alkyl group having 8 to 12 carbon atoms) and R 8 COO(CH 2 CH 2 O) m H (in which R 8 is an alkyl group having 11 to 17 carbon atoms), in each of which it is preferred that m is a number of from 40 to 90. Propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, glycerine and urea are preferable as the additive (IV).
The composition of this invention comprising the above ingredients alone can fully attain the intended objects of this invention, but in order to ensure the stability on storage for a long period, it is preferred that the composition is incorporated with a small amount of an inorganic salt such as NaCl and Na 2 SO 4 , usually 0.01 to 0.5 percent by weight. The composition of this invention is further characterized in that, when a fluorescent dye of the distilbene or diaminostilbene type is incorporated in the composition of this invention, the fluorescent dye exhausts on the fabrics and acts effectively.
This invention will now be illustrated more specifically by reference to Examples.
EXAMPLE 1
Antistatic agents were incorporated into a softening composition, and the solution stability, and the antistatic effect and other properties of treated products were examined. Results are shown in Table 1.
The compositions tested had the following recipe unless otherwise specifically indicated:
Distearyl dimethyl ammonium 6.4% by weight chloride Antistatic agent 2.0% by weight Nonylphenol polyoxyethylene 1.0% by weight (P = 50) ether Ethylene glycol 5.0% by weight NaCl 200 ppm Water balance ##SPC6##
Notes:
1. EO means C 2 H 4 O and Rcoco indicates a coconut alkyl (cocoyl) group.
2. The viscosity is expressed in the cps unit.
3. "-20°C.; 5 times" means the state of the solution observed after the procedure of freezing at -20°C. and re-melting at 30°C. has been repeated 5 times.
4. "R x " indicates an alkyl group of C x H 2x + 1 and "R =" shows the presence of a double bond.
5. Each mark has the following meaning:
: particularly excellent
O : excellent and sufficient
Δ : performance being slightly insufficient and state being accompanied with a little degradation
X : insufficient performance and state with a considerable degradation and not applicable to practical use.
From the above results, it is recognized that compositions incorporated with anionic antistatic agents H to K and non-ionic antistatic agents L and P fail to impart intended antistatic performance to treated products, and other performances and stability are also insufficient. Compositions incorporated with cationic antistatic agents A to D can impart sufficient antistatic property, but compositions incorporated with antistatic agents A, B, B' and D are defective in solution stability and whiteness of the treated fabrics and they are not usable for practical applications. Although the composition incorporated with antistatic agent C is not completely satisfactory, it can be put into practical use. The composition incorporated with antistatic agent C' is especially excellent in various properties. Compositions incorporated with amphoteric antistatic agents E to G can impart sufficient antistatic property, but compositions incorporated with antistatic agents F and G are defective in stability and whiteness of the treated product and they cannot be put into practical use.
EXAMPLE 2
In connection with the antistatic agent-containing compositions (C, C' and E) which exhibited excellent properties in Example 1, the influences of the number of moles of the ethylene oxide (EO) units of the non-ionic surfactant and the additives to those compositions were examined to obtain compositions having more excellent properties and being applicable to practical use. Results are shown in Table 2.
The following three composition systems were tested, in which each percentage ratio was on the weight basis. ##SPC7##
In the above, x is ethylene oxide (EO) mole number.
Properties were measured and evaluated according to the following methods:
1. Viscosity at room temperature:
The compositions were allowed to stand at room temperature for 1 month after blending, and the viscosities were measured at 30°C., each value being expressed in the cps unit.
2. recovery after freezing:
The sample was allowed to stand at -20°C. for 1 day to freeze it, and it was defrosted at room temperature. This procedure was repeated 5 times and the condition of the sample was examined.
3. Dispersion stability:
The sample was allowed to stand in a thermostat chamber maintained at 50°C. for 1 month, and the state of the sample was examined as to whether the phase separation was caused.
Each mark has the following meaning:
: particularly excellent
O : excellent
Δ : slightly insufficient
X : insufficient ##SPC8##
EXAMPLE 3
Examples of compositions included in the scope of this invention are illustrated in Table 3, each of which has excellent properties and can be put into practical use.
Data of stability, antistatic characteristic and other properties of these compositions are shown in Table 4. The properties were measured and evaluated according to the following methods.
1. Viscosity:
The viscosity was measured in the same manner as in Example 1, each value being expressed in the cps unit.
2. Frictional Electrification Voltage:
Polyester fabric swatches and acrylic fabric swatches were respectively dipped in a 0.1 or 0.3 percent solutions of each softening composition (the weight ratio of the fabrics to the treating solution was 1:20). Agitation was applied for 5 minutes, and the fabrics were squeezed at a squeeze ratio of 100 percent and dried. The cloths were allowed to stand at a temperature of 25°C. and a relative humidity of 40 percent for 2 days. The resulting fabrics were used as samples. The frictional electrification voltage was determined by employing a rotary static tester (Kaken type of Kyoto University). In general, it is admitted that, when the frictional electrification voltage is lower than 300 volts (V), troubles due to static electricity can be neglected.
Incidentally, when the above starting fabric swatches were subjected to this static test without treatment with the antistatic softening composition of this invention, it was found that the polyester fabric swatches exhibited a frictional electrification voltage of 2,200 V and the acrylic fabric swatches exhibited 1,900 V.
3. softness:
A cotton towel cloth, a bleached cotton diaper cloth and an acrylic blanket were respectively washed according to an ordinary method, and treated with a 0.1 or 0.3 percent solution of the softening composition, followed by drying. Each sample was subjected to the touch test by 5 men and 5 women, and the softness was evaluated based on points given to the sample. Each value shown in Table 4 is the sum of points given by each tester. Thus, a higher value means a higher softness.
4. Water Absorption:
A cotton broadcloth was treated with a 0.1 or 0.3 percent solution of the softening composition and dried. The resulting cloth was used as a test sample. The water absorption was measured according to Klemm method (the method in which the sample cloth is kept in the vertical state, the bottom is dipped in water, and the rate of water rise is measured). In Table 4, the position of water rising within 1 minute from dipping was expressed in the cm unit. ##SPC9##
This invention relates to a fabric softening composition which is stable even at high concentrations and which imparts an excellent antistatic property.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Softening agents have heretofore been used frequently as finishing agents for textile fabrics. They are utilized mainly for finishing underwears and diapers after washing thereof to impart soft touch to these textile fabrics. Important properties required of softening agents are as follows.
A. They impart a soft touch or feeling to treated textile fabrics.
B. They impart an antistatic property to treated textile fabrics.
C. They do not reduce water absorption of treated textile fabrics.
D. Even in the form of concentrated liquid fabric softener solutions, they are stable at the temperature encountered during the marketing process and during the laundering process and they can maintain low viscosity under such environmental changes.
Among the above properties, the property (a) should naturally be required at first and is most important among the above properties. However, also each of properties (b) to (d) has a great significance in actual applications.
Fabric softening agents of various compositions are known in the art, but most of them comprise as a main ingredient a quaternary ammonium salt having two long-chain alkyl groups.
In some instances, non-ionic surfactants such as alkylphenol-ethylene oxide adducts and solvents such as alcohols and/or glycols are added to such main ingredient so as to improve the solution stability and other properties. Although fabric softening agents of known compositions can give satisfactory softening effects, any of them fails to exhibit sufficient effects with respect to properties (b) to (d), especially antistatic property and stability.
Consumption of clothes and garments composed of synthetic fibers has recently increased very rapidly, but clothes of synthetic fibers are fatally defective in, that they are readily statically charged as compared with clothes of natural fibers. When the fabrics are statically charged, they tend to catch dust thereon very easily or cling to the body, or tend to generate sparks on wearing or undressing. It is well known that these undesired phenomena caused by accumulation of static charges are great disadvantages of clothes and garments of synthetic fibers.
It is necessary to solve the problem that liquid softeners frequently undergo phase separation and have a tendency to be very viscous under various climate and temperature conditions unless the active softening ingredients are present only in low concentrations. Further, it is also required that softening agents are hardly frozen or solidified at temperatures around the freezing point and, if they become frozen or become extremely viscous at these low temperatures, they must readily recover their original viscosities when the temperature is returned to room temperature.
In order to impart antistatic activity to a fabric softening agent, it may at first be considered to incorporate into the composition an antistatic agent. However, when for instance, stearyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, which is an antistatic agent broadly used, is incorporated into a fabric softening agent comprising as a main ingredient a quaternary ammonium salt having two long-chain alkyl groups, an antistatic effect may be attained, but the stability of an aqueous solution of the agent is extremely lowered, with the result that the agent is no longer applicable to practical use. Further, the incorporation of such antistatic agent is accompanied with a disadvantage that discoloration or quenching of fluorescence is brought about in the case of clothes treated with an anionic direct dye or an anionic fluorescent dye. Further, even if such softening agent comprising the above quaternary ammonium salt and an antistatic agent is incorporated with a known solution stabilizer comprising an alkylphenol-ethylene oxide adduct or other similar non-ionic surfactant and a solvent such as alcohols and glycols, the resulting composition is still inferior in the solution stability. On the other hand, when other well-known anti-static agents are employed, the resulting compositions are more or less defective in the point of antistatic performance, solution stability, yellow discoloration of solutions and so on, and they cannot be applied to practical use. As a result of research works made with a view to developing an antistatic softening composition free of the above-mentioned defects, we have found that when a specific antistatic agent is incorporated into a specific softening composition, the above defects can be overcome, and based on this finding we have arrived at this invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, this invention provides a softening composition which exhibits an excellent softening effect to fabrics and a sufficient solution stability even at a high concentration and which can impart an excellent antistatic property to the treated textile fabrics. In accordance with this invention, there is provided an antistatic softening composition comprising the following four ingredients (I) to (IV):
I. 4 - 10 percent by weight of a quaternary ammonium salt having two long-chain alkyl groups having 16 to 22 carbon atoms;
Ii. 0.5 - 3.0 percent by weight of at least one antistatic agent selected from compounds expressed by the following formula ##SPC3##
wherein R 1 is an alkyl group having 14 to 22 carbon atoms, R 2 stands for an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms or a benzyl group, X designates Cl, Br or C 2 H 5 SO 4 , and the sum of m and n is from 5 to 20,
and compounds expressed by the following formula ##SPC4##
wherein R 3 is an alkyl group havnig 16 to 22 carbon atoms, R 4 and R 5 stand independently for an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, and p is a number of from 1 to 4; having
Iii. 0.5 - 2.0 percent by weight of at least one non-ionic surfactant containing an alkyl group having 8 to 18 carbon atoms and having 40 - 90 moles of ethylene oxide units; and
Iv. 2 - 10 percent by weight of at least one additive selected from the group consisting of alcohols having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, glycols having 2 to 3 carbon atoms, glycerol, sorbitol and urea.
The balance of the composition is water.
Now, description will be made on preferred compounds.
As the quaternary ammonium salt (I), there may be preferably mentioned distearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride and di-halogenated-tallowalkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride. Preferable examples of the non-ionic surfactant (III) include R 6 O(CH 2 CH 2 O) m H (in which R 6 is an alkyl group having 12 to 18 carbon atoms), ##SPC5##
(in which R 7 is an alkyl group having 8 to 12 carbon atoms) and R 8 COO(CH 2 CH 2 O) m H (in which R 8 is an alkyl group having 11 to 17 carbon atoms), in each of which it is preferred that m is a number of from 40 to 90. Propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, glycerine and urea are preferable as the additive (IV).
The composition of this invention comprising the above ingredients alone can fully attain the intended objects of this invention, but in order to ensure the stability on storage for a long period, it is preferred that the composition is incorporated with a small amount of an inorganic salt such as NaCl and Na 2 SO 4 , usually 0.01 to 0.5 percent by weight. The composition of this invention is further characterized in that, when a fluorescent dye of the distilbene or diaminostilbene type is incorporated in the composition of this invention, the fluorescent dye exhausts on the fabrics and acts effectively.
This invention will now be illustrated more specifically by reference to Examples.
EXAMPLE 1
Antistatic agents were incorporated into a softening composition, and the solution stability, and the antistatic effect and other properties of treated products were examined. Results are shown in Table 1.
The compositions tested had the following recipe unless otherwise specifically indicated:
Distearyl dimethyl ammonium 6.4% by weight chloride Antistatic agent 2.0% by weight Nonylphenol polyoxyethylene 1.0% by weight (P = 50) ether Ethylene glycol 5.0% by weight NaCl 200 ppm Water balance ##SPC6##
Notes:
1. EO means C 2 H 4 O and Rcoco indicates a coconut alkyl (cocoyl) group.
2. The viscosity is expressed in the cps unit.
3. "-20°C.; 5 times" means the state of the solution observed after the procedure of freezing at -20°C. and re-melting at 30°C. has been repeated 5 times.
4. "R x " indicates an alkyl group of C x H 2x + 1 and "R =" shows the presence of a double bond.
5. Each mark has the following meaning:
: particularly excellent
O : excellent and sufficient
Δ : performance being slightly insufficient and state being accompanied with a little degradation
X : insufficient performance and state with a considerable degradation and not applicable to practical use.
From the above results, it is recognized that compositions incorporated with anionic antistatic agents H to K and non-ionic antistatic agents L and P fail to impart intended antistatic performance to treated products, and other performances and stability are also insufficient. Compositions incorporated with cationic antistatic agents A to D can impart sufficient antistatic property, but compositions incorporated with antistatic agents A, B, B' and D are defective in solution stability and whiteness of the treated fabrics and they are not usable for practical applications. Although the composition incorporated with antistatic agent C is not completely satisfactory, it can be put into practical use. The composition incorporated with antistatic agent C' is especially excellent in various properties. Compositions incorporated with amphoteric antistatic agents E to G can impart sufficient antistatic property, but compositions incorporated with antistatic agents F and G are defective in stability and whiteness of the treated product and they cannot be put into practical use.
EXAMPLE 2
In connection with the antistatic agent-containing compositions (C, C' and E) which exhibited excellent properties in Example 1, the influences of the number of moles of the ethylene oxide (EO) units of the non-ionic surfactant and the additives to those compositions were examined to obtain compositions having more excellent properties and being applicable to practical use. Results are shown in Table 2.
The following three composition systems were tested, in which each percentage ratio was on the weight basis. ##SPC7##
In the above, x is ethylene oxide (EO) mole number.
Properties were measured and evaluated according to the following methods:
1. Viscosity at room temperature:
The compositions were allowed to stand at room temperature for 1 month after blending, and the viscosities were measured at 30°C., each value being expressed in the cps unit.
2. recovery after freezing:
The sample was allowed to stand at -20°C. for 1 day to freeze it, and it was defrosted at room temperature. This procedure was repeated 5 times and the condition of the sample was examined.
3. Dispersion stability:
The sample was allowed to stand in a thermostat chamber maintained at 50°C. for 1 month, and the state of the sample was examined as to whether the phase separation was caused.
Each mark has the following meaning:
: particularly excellent
O : excellent
Δ : slightly insufficient
X : insufficient ##SPC8##
EXAMPLE 3
Examples of compositions included in the scope of this invention are illustrated in Table 3, each of which has excellent properties and can be put into practical use.
Data of stability, antistatic characteristic and other properties of these compositions are shown in Table 4. The properties were measured and evaluated according to the following methods.
1. Viscosity:
The viscosity was measured in the same manner as in Example 1, each value being expressed in the cps unit.
2. Frictional Electrification Voltage:
Polyester fabric swatches and acrylic fabric swatches were respectively dipped in a 0.1 or 0.3 percent solutions of each softening composition (the weight ratio of the fabrics to the treating solution was 1:20). Agitation was applied for 5 minutes, and the fabrics were squeezed at a squeeze ratio of 100 percent and dried. The cloths were allowed to stand at a temperature of 25°C. and a relative humidity of 40 percent for 2 days. The resulting fabrics were used as samples. The frictional electrification voltage was determined by employing a rotary static tester (Kaken type of Kyoto University). In general, it is admitted that, when the frictional electrification voltage is lower than 300 volts (V), troubles due to static electricity can be neglected.
Incidentally, when the above starting fabric swatches were subjected to this static test without treatment with the antistatic softening composition of this invention, it was found that the polyester fabric swatches exhibited a frictional electrification voltage of 2,200 V and the acrylic fabric swatches exhibited 1,900 V.
3. softness:
A cotton towel cloth, a bleached cotton diaper cloth and an acrylic blanket were respectively washed according to an ordinary method, and treated with a 0.1 or 0.3 percent solution of the softening composition, followed by drying. Each sample was subjected to the touch test by 5 men and 5 women, and the softness was evaluated based on points given to the sample. Each value shown in Table 4 is the sum of points given by each tester. Thus, a higher value means a higher softness.
4. Water Absorption:
A cotton broadcloth was treated with a 0.1 or 0.3 percent solution of the softening composition and dried. The resulting cloth was used as a test sample. The water absorption was measured according to Klemm method (the method in which the sample cloth is kept in the vertical state, the bottom is dipped in water, and the rate of water rise is measured). In Table 4, the position of water rising within 1 minute from dipping was expressed in the cm unit. ##SPC9##