Methods for textile treatment

Abstract

There is disclosed a method of coating textile fibers, the method comprising applying, on the external surface of textile fibers, a pre-treated oil-in-water emulsion comprising: (i) an aqueous phase containing water; and (ii) a pre-treated oil phase containing at least one reactive condensation-curable film-forming amino-silicone pre-polymer that, subsequent to condensation curing optionally in presence of additional reactants, forms an amino-silicone coat. The pre-treated reactive oil phase includes at least one pre-treated reactant or pre-treated pre-polymer. An aqueous dispersion containing particles of a hydrophilic polymeric material is then applied to the amino-silicone coat, so as to form a polymeric layer thereon. At least one of the oil-in-water emulsion forming a first coat and of the aqueous dispersion forming a second coat may further contain a plurality of sub-micronic pigment particles dispersed therein. Suitable compositions and kits including the same are also disclosed, as well as fibers coated thereby.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A textile fiber having an external surface and a coating thereon, wherein the coating comprises:
 a) a thermosetting layer in contact with the textile fiber, comprising or consisting of cross-linked amino-silicones, the thermosetting layer having a glass transition temperature (Tg) between −100° C. and +20° C.; and   b) a thermoplastic layer comprising a polymeric material having acid moieties, the thermoplastic layer being disposed on the thermosetting layer and optionally having a melting temperature  TM  between 50° C. and 250° C.   
     
     
         2 . A textile fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein said coating further comprises a pigment, optionally as a plurality of sub-micronic pigment particles, and wherein the pigment is present in the thermosetting layer and/or in the thermoplastic layer. 
     
     
         3 . A textile fiber according to  claim 2 , wherein the sub-micronic pigment particles comprise:
 i. an organic pigment, selected from the group consisting of: perylene pigments, phthalocyanine pigments, quinacridone pigments and imidazolone pigments; or   ii. an inorganic pigment, selected from the group consisting of: titanium dioxide, cadmium sulfoselenide, iron oxide, bismuth vanadate, cobalt titanate, sodium aluminosulfosilicate, mixed Fe—Mg—Ti oxides, manganese ferrite, and metallic or alloy pigments.   
     
     
         4 . A textile fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein said coating further comprises a reinforcement filler in the thermosetting layer. 
     
     
         5 . A textile fiber according to  claim 4 , wherein the reinforcement filler is selected from the group consisting of: fumed silica, precipitated silica, magnesia, alumina and carbon. 
     
     
         6 . A textile fiber according to  claim 1 , the fiber being made of a non-keratinous material. 
     
     
         7 . A textile fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein said coating further comprises alkali metal ions in the thermoplastic layer. 
     
     
         8 . A textile fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein the Tg of the thermosetting layer is between −80° C. and +15° C.; and/or wherein the Tm of the thermoplastic layer is between 50° C. and 250° C. 
     
     
         9 . A textile fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein said polymeric material is selected from: alkene-acrylic acid copolymer, alkene-methacrylic acid copolymer, and acrylamide/acrylate copolymer. 
     
     
         10 . A kit for producing a reactive composition for coating an external surface of textile fibers, the kit comprising:
 (a) a first oil phase compartment containing a first oil phase including:
 (i) at least one reactive condensation-curable film-forming amino-silicone monomer having a molecular weight of at most 1000 g/mole; and optionally, 
 (ii) a non-amino cross-linking agent; and further optionally, 
 (iii) at least one of an amino-silicone oil and a non-amino-silicone oil; and further optionally, 
 (iv) at least one reactive condensation-curable film-forming amino-silicone pre-polymer including at least one of a reactive condensation-curable film-forming amino-silicone polymer and a reactive condensation-curable film-forming amino-silicone oligomer; 
   (b) an aqueous dispersion compartment containing an aqueous dispersion including:
 (i) an aqueous medium; and 
 (ii) sub-micronic particles including, or made of, a hydrophilic polymeric material having neutralized acid moieties, disposed within the aqueous medium, each of at least a portion of the sub-micronic particles optionally containing at least one pigment particle, the at least one pigment particle optionally being at least partially enveloped by the polymeric material; and 
   (c) an optional second oil phase compartment containing a second oil phase including:
 (i) at least one of an amino-silicone oil and a non-amino-silicone oil, and optionally, 
 (ii) a solid, hydrophobic reactive inorganic filler; and further optionally, 
 (iii) at least one reactive condensation-curable film-forming amino-silicone pre-polymer including at least one of a reactive condensation-curable film-forming amino-silicone polymer and a reactive condensation-curable film-forming amino-silicone oligomer; and further optionally, 
 (iv) pigment particles, disposed within the second oil phase; 
   wherein at least one of the first oil phase compartment and optional second oil phase compartment further contains an aqueous pre-treatment solution; and   wherein the kit further optionally comprises at least one of: a thickening agent, an emulsifier, a surfactant and a dispersant.   
     
     
         11 . A kit according to  claim 10 , wherein at least one of i) said aqueous dispersion compartment (b) and ii) said second oil phase compartment (c) further contains a pigment in a respective aqueous dispersion and/or second oil phase, the pigment optionally consisting of a plurality of sub-micronic pigment particles, at least one of said pigment particles, if present in the aqueous dispersion, optionally being at least partially enveloped by the polymeric material. 
     
     
         12 . A kit according to  claim 10 , wherein the sub-micronic pigment particles comprise:
 i. an organic pigment, selected from the group consisting of: perylene pigments, phthalocyanine pigments, quinacridone pigments and imidazolone pigments; or   ii. an inorganic pigment, selected from the group consisting of: titanium dioxide, cadmium sulfoselenide, iron oxide, bismuth vanadate, cobalt titanate, sodium aluminosulfosilicate, mixed Fe—Mg—Ti oxides, manganese ferrite, and metallic or alloy pigments.   
     
     
         13 . A kit according to  claim 10 , wherein the at least one reactive condensation-curable film-forming amino-silicone monomer has at least 3 silanol and/or hydrolysable groups (3+SiOH), so as to form a 3-dimensional network. 
     
     
         14 . A kit according to  claim 10 , wherein said aqueous pre-treatment solution essentially consists of distilled water having a pH in the range of 6.5 to 7.5. 
     
     
         15 . A kit according to  claim 10 , wherein said aqueous pre-treatment solution further comprises an acid, said acid being optionally a volatile acid. 
     
     
         16 . A kit according to  claim 15 , wherein said aqueous pre-treatment solution has a pH in the range of 0.5 to 2.5.