Abstract
This article describes the change in the hand value of chitosan-crosslinked cotton fabrics. The chitosan-crosslinked cotton fabrics were manufactured by mercerizing process using epichlorohydrin(ECH), 2% aqueous acetic acid and 20% aqueous sodium hydroxide. It proposed that the crosslinking and mercerizing were performed with the mixture of four different molecular weight chitosan and ECH in a single step. Cotton fabrics were dipped in the mixed solution of chitosan and ECH, picked up by mangle roller, pre-dried at $130^{\circ}C$, mercerized and crosslinked in NaOH solution and finally washed and dried. Mechanical and physical properties of the chitosan crosslinked fabric were measured on concentration and molecular weight by Kawabata Evaluation System(KES) and other instruments. As the concentration of chitosan solution increased, LT, WT, B, 2HB were increased. WT, B, 2HB, MIU, SMD, $T_0$, $T_m$ were decreased when chitosan was depolymerized. On the other hand, RT was increased when chitosan was depolymerized.
