AN EXPLORATORY-STUDY OF MERCERIZED COTTON FABRICS BY DRIFT SPECTROSCOPY AND CHEMOMETRICS

Diffuse reflectance infrared spectra of differently mercerized cotton poplin fabrics are interpreted with the aid of fuzzy clustering and multivariate chemometrics methods (PCA and SIMCA). Fuzzy clustering analysis of spectra from blank, slack, and stretch mercerized samples shows that three clusters can be identified, and this conclusion is supported by the PCA display method and SIMCA classification. Spectra from slack mercerized samples, treated at three different temperatures, are also readily discriminated by the same three chemometrics methods.