Effect of microwave irradiation on the physical properties and structures of wool fabric

Microwaves are high frequency radio waves which are capable of penetrating many materials and causing heat to be generated in the process. To investigate the effect of microwave irradiation on the physical property, chemical structure, surface morphological structure, and fine structure of wool fabric, wool fabric was treated with microwave irradiation under variety of conditions in terms of the power and the time of microwave treatment. The breaking strength, breaking elongation, and whiteness of the treated wool fabric in different humid state were investigated. The structures of the untreated and treated wool were investigated with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Laser Raman spectroscopy (LRS). The results show that the physical properties of the treated wool fabrics were changed with microwave irradiation time and power. The chemical structure had not significant change. The surface morphological structure, the concentration of cystine S? S bonds and crystallinity of the treated wool were changed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011