Textile Chemistry
Master of Science in Textile Chemistry (MS/TC)
The Master of Science in Textile Chemistry program emphasizes the fundamental principles of polymer science, dyeing and finishing technology, color science, dye chemistry, fiber formation, analytical chemistry and forensics. While learning these principles, these master’s students also develop their research, technical and analytical skills.
Alumni who head into industry after graduation find work in a wide variety of fields ranging from the chemical, environmental science, medical and forensic science industries to the retail, textile and apparel industries.
Focus areas of this program include:
- Dyeing and finishing chemistry.
- Forensic and analytical chemistry.
- Polymer science.
- Sustainability.
- Smart fibers and e-textiles.
- Nonwovens.
- Product development.
This program is available in both thesis and non-thesis options. The non-thesis option can be completed entirely online.
Degree Requirements Master of Science in Textile Chemistry (MS/TC)
The Masters of Science in Textile Chemistry (MS TC) has two options, a thesis option (Option A) and a non-thesis option (Option B).
M.S. TC Option A (Thesis Degree) Program Requirements
MS TC Option A (Thesis) requires a minimum of 32 credit hours, with a minimum of 24 credit hours (8 courses) meeting the following requirements:
- At least 12 credit hours of courses with substantial chemistry content, mostly CH or TC, or from the approved TC offerings table. Substitutions must be approved by the Director of Graduate Programs;
- A minimum of 15 credit hours of courses that are offered by the TECS Department, which may have the following prefixes: TC (PCC), TE, TMS, NW, TT, FPS, and TTM. Note: not all courses with these prefixes are offered by the TECS Department;
- Two semesters of TC601 (Graduate Seminar) are required;
- For the thesis a minimum of six hours of thesis related research is required (TC 695, TC693 or TC630).
Master’s Thesis. The Master’s thesis should be a research exercise that necessitates expertise at the M.S. level and is concentrated in the textile chemistry area on a well-defined topic that has a restricted scope.
M.S. TC Option B (Non-Thesis Degree) Program Requirements
MS TC Option B (Non-Thesis) requires a minimum of 32 credit hours, with a minimum of 24 credit hours (8 courses) meeting the following requirements:
- At least 12 credit hours of courses with substantial chemistry content, mostly CH or TC, or from the approved TC offerings table. Substitutions must be approved by the Director of Graduate Programs;
- A minimum of 15 credit hours of courses that are offered by the TECS Department, which may have the following prefixes: TC (PCC), TE, TMS, NW, TT, FPS, and TTM. Note: not all courses with these prefixes are offered by the TECS Department;
- Two semesters of TC601 (Graduate Seminar) are required;
- At least six credit hours of project-related work in textile chemistry at the 600 level or above, such as TC 630 (Independent Study) or an internship, which will be advised by and evaluated by at least one Graduate Faculty Member in Textile Chemistry.
More Information
Applicant Information
- Delivery Method: On-Campus, Online, Hybrid
- Entrance Exam: None
- Interview Required: None
Application Deadlines
- Fall: Jun 25 (US); Mar 1 (Int)
- Spring: Nov 25 (US); Jul 15 (Int)
Faculty
Faculty
- Roger L. Barker
- Nelson Vinueza Benitez
- Philip Bradford
- Januka Budhathoki-Uprety
- Emiel DenHartog
- Xiaomeng Fang
- Raoul Farer
- Ericka Ford
- Wei Gao
- Tushar Ghosh
- Jessica Gluck
- David Hinks
- Ahmed Mohamed El-Shafei
- Russell E. Gorga
- Warren J Jasper
- Jeffrey Allen Joines
- Martin William King
- Richard Kotek
- Wendy E. Krause
- Jerome Lavelle
- Marian G McCord
- Bryan Ormond
- Melissa Anne Pasquinelli
- Behnam Pourdeyhimi
- Jon Paul Rust
- Sonja Salmon
- Renzo Shamey
- Eunkyoung Shim
- Richard J Spontak
- Alan E Tonelli
- Xiangwu Zhang
- Mengmeng Zhu
Assistant Professors
- Amanda Mills
- Md Abdul Quddus
Practice/Research/Teaching Professors
- Hechmi Hamouda
- Benoit Maze
- Jialong Shen
- Tova Williams
Emeritus Faculty
- Pam Banks-Lee
- Robert Alan Donaldson
- Aly H El-Shiekh
- Harold S. Freeman
- Perry L. Grady
- Bhupender S. Gupta
- Peter J. Hauser
- Samuel Mack Hudson
- Gary N. Mock
- Mansour H. Mohamed
- Carl B. Smith
- Michael Herbert Theil
- Charles Tomasino
Adjunct Faculty
- Gisela de Aragao Umbuzeiro
Courses
Industrially important textile chemicals used for enhancing fiber and fabric properties such as durable press, water repellency, anti-soiling, flame retardancy, softness, stiffness, lubricity and other uses. Correlation of effect with structure, end-use influences, interaction with fabric and fibers, sources and synthetic routes, economic and environmental considerations.
Prerequisite: One yr. of organic chemistry
Typically offered in Spring only
TE/TC 598 is a 3-credit, intermediate course on fiber manufacturing technologies for the major classes of polymeric and inorganic fibers. The course explores innovations in fiber spinning that were necessitated by advances in polymer chemistry, the need for advanced material properties, as well as socio-economic concerns. The chemistry of polymers is discussed in terms of its role on fiber manufacturing by melt and solution spinning technologies. The microstructure and performance properties of fibers are discussed in context of the manufacturing technology.
R: Senior or Gradate Student Standing
Typically offered in Fall only
Principles of step reaction and addition polymerizations; copolymerization; emulsion polymerization; ionic polymerization; characterization of polymers; molecular structure and properties.
Prerequisite: TC 461 and CH 231 or CH 431
Typically offered in Fall only
Poly(olefins), poly(vinyl chloride), poly(vinyl acetate), poly(urethanes), epoxies, silicones, styrene copolymers used as textile finishes, nonwoven binders, fabric coatings, composites, adhesives, foams, carpet backing adhesives. Emphasis upon synthesis, industrial processes, properties and products.
Prerequisite: One yr. of organic chemistry, TC 461
Typically offered in Spring only
Advances in biotechnology allow us to: better understand the biosynthetic origins of textile materials from agricultural, animal and microbial sources; apply biotechnology, such as enzyme treatment, for textile modification and waste management; and, develop new types of biobased textiles using biocatalytic and fermentation technologies. In the context of this course, biobased textile materials include materials of biological origin used as textiles (e.g. fibers, monomers and fiber-forming biopolymers) or used during the production of textiles (e.g. enzymes, microorganisms, dyes and chemicals). The origins and properties of biobased textile materials are explored in a manner that bridges the fields of polymer chemistry, biochemistry and fiber science, with emphasis on chemical composition, properties, processes, analytics and mechanisms important to using these materials for textile applications. Sustainability attributes of biobased materials are discussed throughout the course.
Prerequisite: One semester of undergraduate organic chemistry (CH 220 or CH 221 or CH 225 or similar) or permission of instructor
Typically offered in Fall only
New or special course on developments in textile engineering and science. Specific topics and prerequisites identified vary. Generally used for first offering of a new course.
Prerequisite: Senior standing or Graduate standing
Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer
Discussion of scientific articles and presentations; review and discussion of student papers and research problems.
Typically offered in Fall and Spring
Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer
Teaching experience under the mentorship of faculty who assist the student in planning for the teaching assignment, observe and provide feedback to the student during the teaching assignment, and evaluate the student upon completion of the assignment.
Prerequisite: Master's student
Typically offered in Fall only
For students in non-thesis master's programs who have completed all credit hour requirements for their degree but need to maintain full-time continuous registration to complete incomplete grades, projects, final master's exam, etc. Students may register for this course a maximum of one semester.
Prerequisite: Master's student
Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer
For students in non thesis master's programs who have completed all other requirements of the degree except preparing for and taking the final master's exam.
Prerequisite: Master's student
Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer
Instruction in research and research under the mentorship of a member of the Graduate Faculty.
Prerequisite: Master's student
Typically offered in Fall and Spring
Thesis Research
Prerequisite: Master's student
Typically offered in Fall and Spring
For graduate students whose programs of work specify no formal course work during a summer session and who will be devoting full time to thesis research.
Prerequisite: Master's student
Typically offered in Summer only
For students who have completed all credit hour requirements and full-time enrollment for the master's degree and are writing and defending their thesis. Credits arranged
Prerequisite: Master's student
Typically offered in Fall only
Practical and theoretical analysis of the chemical and physical principles underlying conventional methods of converting bulk polymer to fiber; rheology; melt, dry and wet polymer extrusion; fiber drawing; heat setting; general theory applied to unit processes.
Typically offered in Spring only
Mechanisms of dyeing. Application of thermodynamics to dyeing systems. Kinetics of diffusion in dyeing processes.
Prerequisite: CH 433
Typically offered in Spring only
Basis of modern techniques for color specification, measurement, control and communication. Applications of color science to textiles, plastics, color reproduction, computer-based imaging and display systems. Basic concepts taught by computer color graphics.
Prerequisite: Senior standing or Graduate standing in TC, Corequisite: TC 707
Typically offered in Fall only
Exercises with modern methods and equipment to aid in understanding color perception, color science and color measurement. Computer color graphics exercises for comprehension of basic concepts. Independent projects in color science. Limited enrollment.
Prerequisite: Senior standing or Graduate standing in TC, Corequisite: TC 706
Typically offered in Fall only
The primary course purpose is to gain a strong fundamental understanding of the chemistry and technology of preparation, dyes, dyeing and finishes. Emphasis will be on the chemistry of different bleach activators, surfactants, photophysics and photochemistry of FWAs, modulations of dyes structures to influence color, tinctorial strength, light fastness, wash fastness and aggregation. Chemistry of different dye classes will be studied with emphasis on structure-property relationships and dye-fiber interactions. Dyeing isotherms (Nernst and Langmuir), kinetics of dyeing with emphasis on derivation of Nernst and Langmuir based on thermodynamics and kinetics principles will be covered with practical examples of dyeing at different temperature and how to calculate thermodynamic parameters of dyeing (entropy, standard affinity and isotherm constants of Nernst and Langmuir). Chemistry of different finishes, including soil release, chemistry of flame retardants and mechanisms of flame retardancy, antimicrobial and water and oil repellency, will be covered with emphasis on structure-property relationships.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing and C or better in CH221 or CH225 and CH223 or CH227
Typically offered in Fall and Spring
Correlation of color and chemical constitution, synthetic routes for popular dyes of all important types; electronic mechanisms for reactive dyes; chemistry of dye interactions with light, washing and other in-use influences; economic and environmental considerations.
Typically offered in Spring only
Exploration of connections between microstructures and properties of polymers afforded by analysis of their conformational characteristics. Analysis of NMR spectroscopy and conformational energy estimates to establish polymer microstructures and resultant sizes and shapes of polymer chains, which then related to their unique and rich variety of physical properties.
Prerequisite: CH 220
Typically offered in Fall only
This course is offered alternate even years
Intensive treatments of selected topics in textile, polymer and fiber science.
Prerequisite: Senior standing or Graduate standing
Typically offered in Fall and Spring
Study of selected topics of particular interest in various advanced phases of fiber science.
Typically offered in Fall and Spring