Effect of additives on durable‐press cotton fabrics treated with a glyoxal/glycol mixture

Cotton fabrics were treated with a glyoxal/glycol mixture for a nonformaldehyde durable‐press finish by a pad–dry–cure method. Aluminum sulfate was used as a catalyst. The effects of additives such as sodium hydrogen sulfate, polyurethane, and a silicone softener were examined. Sodium hydrogen sulfate improved the whiteness and strength retention of the treated fabrics. The degree of whiteness of the treated fabrics was similar to that of fabrics treated with 1,2,3,4‐butanetetracarboxylic acid. Polyurethane improved the wrinkle recovery angle and tearing strength retention of the treated fabrics significantly but impaired the whiteness. The softening agent increased the retention of the tearing strength and abrasion resistance significantly. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 975–978, 2005     

降解壳聚糖的亚麻织物防皱整理作用研究

采用不同组分的降解壳聚糖作为亚麻织物无甲醛防皱整理剂,通过织物折皱回复率、白度、断裂强力保留率、断裂伸长率的变化,探讨降解壳聚糖用量及相对分子质量对整理效果的影响。实验结果显示,平均聚合度为9.787,平均相对分子质量为1 590.15,w(整理剂)%1%的降解壳聚糖进行亚麻织物整理后,折皱回复率为30.15%,白度为57.900%,断裂强力保留率为96.47%,断裂伸长率为12.73%。     

柠檬酸酒石酸复配体系对亚麻织物的防皱整理作用

以过硫酸钾为促进剂,将柠檬酸和酒石酸应用于亚麻织物的无醛防皱整理。讨论了整理剂的物质的量比及用量对织物折皱回复角、断裂强度保留率及白度的影响。结果显示,在使用加（柠檬酸）为10％（占整理液质量）的柠檬酸以及柠檬酸／酒石酸为1：0．5（物质的量比）,并用w（次磷酸钠）为3％（占整理液总质量）的催化剂在165℃焙烘3min,可获得良好的织物折皱回复角、断裂强度保留率和白度。     

Using Persulfate Oxidized Chitosan as a Novel Additives in Easy-Care Finishing for Cotton Textiles

Easy care finishing of cotton fabric using glyoxal in the presence and absence of low molecular weight chitosan, i.e., persulfate-oxidized chitosan, as a novel additive along with MgCl₂·6H₂O as an acid catalyst was studied in detail. Major factors affecting finishing reaction were studied with respect to glyoxal, oxidized chitosan, and catalyst concentrations in addition to curing time and temperature of treatment according to the pad-dry-cure method. The obtained results show the following findings: (a) increasing the glyoxal concentration from 5–50 g/l in absence of oxidized chitosan is accompanied by an increase in crease recovery angle and a decrease in tensile strength of the finished fabric, whereas that treated in the presence of oxidized chitosan shows a higher tensile strength and to some extent comparable crease recovery angle with respect to that finished in the absence of it when the concentration of glyoxal increases; (b) increasing the oxidized chitosan concentration is accompanied by decreasing crease recovery angle, whereas the tensile strength increases when glyoxal concentration increases within the range studied; (c) increasing the MgCl₂·6H₂O from 0–15 g/l is accompanied by an increase in the crease recovery angle and a decrease in tensile strength of the finished fabrics in the presence and absence of oxidized chitosan; (d) increasing the time and temperature of curing of the finished fabrics is accompanied by an increase in crease recovery angles and decreases in tensile strength; and (e) the dry wrinkle recovery angle of cotton fabric samples finished in presence of O-chitosan is decreased after washing, and the higher the washing cycle the lower the dry wrinkle recovery angle.     

The study of rapid curing crease‐resistant processing on cotton fabrics. Part I. The effect of chitosan on the physical properties of processed fabrics

The principal aim of this study is to explore the effect of chitosan on the physical properties of cotton fabrics in rapid curing crease‐resistant processing. It was determined that compared with the traditional three‐stage processing, the addition of chitosan is beneficial to the absorbency of processed fabrics, dry‐wet wrinkle recovery angle, and tensile strength retention. In addition, the dry‐wet wrinkle recovery angle of processed fabrics increases with the increase of curing temperature and curing treatment time, but absorbency and tensile strength retention both decrease. Also, the dry‐wet wrinkle recovery angle and tensile strength retention of processed fabrics increase with higher chitosan concentrations, but the fabric's absorbency is reduced. In general, use of 0.5%≈︁0.75% chitosan with DMEU curing treatment conditions of 8%, 200°C for 30 s will provide optimum physical property balance for processed fabrics. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 78: 35–40, 2000     

Durable antimicrobial treatment of cotton fabrics using N‐(2‐hydroxy)propyl‐3‐trimethylammonium chitosan chloride and polycarboxylic acids

N‐(2‐hydroxy)propyl‐3‐trimethylammonium chitosan chloride (HTCC), a water‐soluble chitosan quaternary ammonium derivative, was used as an antimicrobial agent for cotton fabrics. HTCC has a lower minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli compared to that of chitosan; however, the imparted antimicrobial activity is lost on laundering. Thus crosslinking agents were utilized to obtain a durable antimicrobial treatment by immobilizing HTCC. Several crosslinkers such as dimethyloldihydroxyethylene urea (DMDHEU), butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA), and citric acid (CA) were used with HTCC to improve the laundering durability of HTCC treatment by covalent bond formation between the crosslinker, HTCC and cellulose. The polycarboxylic acid treatment was superior to the DMDHEU treatment in terms of prolonged antimicrobial activity of the treated cotton after successive laundering. Also, the cotton treated with HTCC and BTCA showed improved durable press properties without excessive deterioration in mechanical strength or whiteness when compared to the citric acid treatment. With the addition of only 0.1% HTCC to BTCA solutions, the treated fabrics showed durable antimicrobial activity up to 20 laundering cycles. The wrinkle recovery angle and strength retention of the treated fabrics were not adversely affected with the addition of HTCC. Therefore, BTCA can be used with HTCC in one bath to impart durability of antimicrobial activity along with durable press properties to cotton fabric. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1567–1572, 2003     

Dyeing and finishing of cotton fabric in a single bath with reactive dyes and citric acid

Simultaneous dyeing and durable press finishing of cotton fabrics with reactive dyes and citric acid finishing agent was carried out using a pad-dry-cure process. Factors affecting the process, such as the concentration of dye, citric acid, catalyst and alkali, as well as the curing temperature, were investigated. The dyed and finished fabrics were evaluated with respect to colour strength, crease recovery angle, breaking strength and fastness properties.     

Electrospun zein fibers using glyoxal as the crosslinking reagent

After reaction of zein with glyoxal the resulting electrospun fibers have improved resistance to known zein solvents. Durable fibers with diameters of 0.6 μm could be produced. The reaction between zein and glyoxal was carried out in acetic acid (AcOH) at temperatures between 25 and 60°C at various lengths of time. Gelation would occur after higher extents of reaction. During the course of reaction, solution viscosity increased which increased the diameter of the electrospun fibers produced from these solutions. Gel electrophoresis showed increased molecular weight as the reaction progressed. When 6% glyoxal was allowed to react with zein at 25°C for 6 h, the resulting fibers were durable to AcOH as spun. Other formulations required a second thermal treatment to provide solvent durable fabrics. Fibers displayed different secondary structure utilizing far‐UV circular dichroism spectroscopy. The infrared spectra displayed peaks in the C? O region supporting the reaction of glyoxal with hydroxyl groups present on zein. Zein fabrics incorporating glyoxal had modestly improved tensile strength. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Improving the antibacterial activity of cotton fabrics finished with triclosan by the use of 1,2,3,4‐butanetetracarboxylic acid and citric acid

For producing antibacterial textiles, the conventional finishing processes have high productivity and low processing costs, but textiles finished in these ways exhibit low durability against laundering. Therefore, cotton fabrics were bleached with hydrogen peroxide, finished with triclosan, and then treated with polycarboxylic acids such as 1,2,3,4‐butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) and citric acid (CA) as crosslinking agents to provide durable antibacterial properties. The surface of fibers treated with BTCA had a greater crosslinked area, and the surfaces of fabrics treated with CA were exposed to greater amounts of deformation due to the mechanical and chemical influences after 50 launderings. The bleaching and finishing treatments did not dramatically affect the breaking strength. However, the polycarboxylic acid treatment (both BTCA and CA) alone showed reductions in the breaking strength when the acid concentration was increased. The polycarboxylic acids were fairly effective against both bacteria, even at lower concentrations, when they were applied to stand‐alone cotton fabrics, whereas the antibacterial activity decreased somewhat after the use of polycarboxylic acid and triclosan in the same recipes. Adding polycarboxylic acids to the antibacterial finishing recipes enhanced the durability after 50 launderings, and the durability of the recipes containing BTCA was much higher than that of the recipes containing CA. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Characterization of cotton fabrics treated with glyoxal and glutaraldehyde

Comparison was made for glyoxal- and glutaraldehyde-treated cotton fabrics. Crosslinking efficiency between cellulose and dialdehyde measured by wrinkle recovery angle was higher with glutaraldehyde than with glyoxal. This disparity was presumably due to different forms of two dialdehydes in aqueous solution that were confirmed by FTIR and UV-visible spectroscopies. Such difference in hydrated forms along with easy formation of oligomeric and polymeric forms in glyoxal could influence on sorption and reactivity of the dialdehydes with cellulose. Staining and water imbibition values and various thermal parameters, such as percent residue, differential thermogravimetric peak temperature, and maximum rate of weight loss, also supported high crosslinking efficiency of glutaraldehyde. The presence of unreacted aldehyde groups within the treated fabrics was confirmed by FTIR analysis. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 2691–2699, 1999     

Property modifications of finished textiles by a cationic surfactant

Fabrics made of 100% cotton, 100% polyester and a 50/50 cotton/polyester blend with and without functional finishes were treated in aqueous solutions of the cationic surfactant distearyldimethylammonium bromide (DSDMAB). Finishes chosen were dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU), a durable press finish, and poly(acrylic acid), a soil release finish. Selective sorption of the cationic surfactant by finished and unfinished fabrics was quantified. Cotton takes up much larger amounts of DSDMAB than does polyester. In general, acrylic finished fabrics take up more DSDMAB, while DMDHEU finished fabrics take up smaller amounts of DSDMAB as compared to their unfinished controls. These findings indicate that ionic interaction forces play an important role in the sorption process. In order to investigate this, acid numbers were used as a relative measure of negative sorption sites on fabrics. A direct relationship between DSDMAB sorption and the acid numbers of the fabrics was established. Perceived fabric softness is generally improved by treatments with DSDMAB for all test fabrics. Although cotton fabrics finished with DMDHEU were perceived to be less soft than unfinished cotton, treatment with DSDMAB restored the softness level to that of unfinished cotton. The softness of both cotton and polyester fabrics was greatly lowered by the acrylic finish. The presence of even large amounts of DSDMAB did not restore softness ratings to levels comparable to unfinished controls. Electrical resistivity and electrostatic clinging measurements were used to assess the effectiveness of DSDMAB as an antistatic agent. DSDMAB reduced the electrical resistivities of all test fabrics. However, relative humidity played a much larger role in reducting the electrical resistivity of fabrics. Clinging times were also reduced by DSDMAB treatments. DSDMAB was particularly efficient in reducing the clinging time of polyester. Additional moisture related properties were investigated. The presence of DSDMAB on the test fabrics did not significantly alter moisture regain. The application of DSDMAB from aqueous solutions resulted in lower water retention values of the test fabrics after centrifuging at ag-factor comparable to home washing machines. This leads to energy savings during drying from 10–24%, depending on the fabric and finish type. However, energy savings due to fiber type were more significant than those due to the cationic surfactant treatment.     

Characteristics of cotton fabrics treated with epichlorohydrin and chitosan

Cotton fabrics treated with a crosslinking agent, epicholorohydrin, in the presence of chitosan (CEC) provide many possible reactive sites for reactive dyes and antimicrobial properties of the grafted chitosan to the cellulose structure. This process was applied by means of the conventional mercerizing process. The chitosan finishing and durable press finishing of the cotton fabrics occurred simultaneously in the mercerization bath. ECH is expected to react with hydroxyl groups in cellulose and chitosan or with amino groups in chitosan to form alcohol crosslinking by the Belfast process. The fixed chitosan content in the CEC was calculated by the nitrogen percentage of an Elemental Analyzer. The color strength (K/S) of the reactive dyes of the treated cotton fabrics did not significantly change with an increase of chitosan; however, the degree of swelling of the treated cotton fabrics decreased with an increase of chitosan and ECH. These performances were retained through 20 washing and tumble drying cycles. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Quantitative evaluation of cotton‐bound glyoxal in the presence of glycols

Cotton fabric is modified chemically to convey crease resistance to the cellulosic material by means of an appropriate crosslinking agent. For this purpose glyoxal was tested as a nonformaldehyde durable press agent. The cotton‐bound glyoxal can be quantified by means of isocratic HPLC, whereby the glyoxal‐treated fabric is hydrolyzed by a NaOH solution. During this pretreatment glyoxal is extracted from the cellulosic sample and converted into glycolate by an internal Cannizzaro reaction. The addition of glycols such as ethylene glycol or diethylene glycol into the formulation results in a remarkable decrease of the amount of glyoxal that is detected. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that the glycol reacts with the glyoxal, thus hampering the internal Cannizzaro reaction. The acidic hydrolysis and the alkaline hydrolysis provide the same results, thus indicating that the alkaline treatment removes all the cotton‐bound glyoxal. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1870–1875, 2003     

Two-step durable press treatment of cotton fabric

In this paper cotton fabrics were treated by two different methods with polycarboxylic acids (citric acid and butanetetracarboxylic acid) for durable press performance. The first was a two-step method in which the fabric was initially treated with citric acid and then treated by butanetetracarboxylic acid. The other was a mixed method in which the fabric was treated with a solution containing the two mixed polycarboxylic acids. Following the treatments, the wrinkle recovery angle, strength and strength retention of the resulting fabric were measured and compared.     

Combination of a hydroxy‐functional organophosphorus oligomer and a multifunctional carboxylic acid as a flame retardant finishing system for cotton: Part I. The chemical reactions

Multifunctional carboxylic acids, such as 1,2,3,4‐butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA), have been used as crosslinking agents for cotton cellulose to produce wrinkle‐resistant cotton fabrics and garments. Polycarboxylic acids were used to bond hydroxy‐functional organophosphorus oligomer to cotton, thus imparting durable flame retarding properties to the cotton fabric. This research investigated the chemical reactions between the hydroxy‐functional organophosphorus compound and BTCA on cotton. BTCA crosslinks cotton cellulose through the formation of a 5‐membered cyclic anhydride intermediate and esterification of the anhydride with cellulose. In the presence of the organophosphorus compound, BTCA reacts with both the organophosphorus compound and cellulose, thus functioning as a binder between cotton cellulose and the organophosphorus compound and making the flame retarding system durable to laundering. The cotton fabric treated by the combination of the organophosphorus compound and BTCA demonstrated lower wrinkle resistance and less tensile strength loss than that treated by BTCA alone. The phosphorus retention on the cotton fabric after one home laundering cycle was approximately 70%. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanical strength of durable press finished cotton fabric part V: Poly(vinyl alcohol) as an additive to improve fabric abrasion resistance

Multifunctional carboxylic acids, such as 1,2,3,4‐butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA), are effective crosslinking agents for cotton cellulose and have become the most promising nonformaldehyde durable press (DP) finishing agents to replace the traditional formaldehyde‐based dimethyloldihydroxylethyleneurea (DMDHEU) and its derivatives. DP finishing imparts wrinkle resistance to cotton fabrics and also severely reduces the strength and abrasion resistance of finished fabrics. In this research, we investigated the use of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as an additive to improve the abrasion resistance of the cotton fabric crosslinked by BTCA. We found that addition of PVA improves the abrasion resistance of the crosslinked cotton fabric when the concentration of PVA exceeds 0.6% in the finish solution. We also found that the use of PVA as an additive has no negative effect on the wrinkle recovery angle (WRA), DP rating, and tensile strength of the treated cotton fabric. This is probably because the molecules of PVA stay on the surfaces of the cotton fibers due to their large molecular sizes. PVA competes with cellulose to esterify BTCA, thus reducing the number of crosslinkages formed on the cotton fiber surface. The reaction of PVA and BTCA may also form a protective layer on the fiber surface, thus reinforcing the mechanically weak points on the fiber surface. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 3940–3946, 2004     

Surface modification of polyester and polyamide fabrics by low frequency plasma polymerization of acrylic acid

In this study, the surface characteristics of polyester and polyamide fabrics were changed by plasma polymerization technique utilizing acrylic acid as precursor. This monomer was used to produce hydrophilic materials with extended absorbency. The hydrophilicity, total wrinkle recovery angle (WRA°) and breaking strength of the fabrics were determined prior and after plasma polymerization treatment. The modification of surfaces was carried out at low pressure (<100 Pa) and low temperature (<50°C) plasma conditions. The effects of exposure time and discharge power parameters were optimized by comparing properties of the fabrics before and after plasma polymerization treatments. It was shown that two sides of polyester fabric samples were treated equally and homogeneously in plasma reactor. For polyester fabrics, the minimum wetting time, 0.5 s, was observed at two plasma processing parameters of 10 W–45 min and 10 W–20 min, where untreated fabric has a wetting time of 6 s. For polyester fabrics, the maximum value was obtained at 60 W–5 min with the wrinkle recovery angle of 306° where the untreated fabric has 290°. The optimum plasma conditions for polyamide fabrics were determined as 30 W–45 min where 2 s wetting time was observed. Wrinkle recovery angle of untreated polyamide fabric was 264°. In this study, after plasma polymerization of acrylic acid, wrinkle recovery angle values were increased by 13%. No significant change was observed in breaking strength of both fabrics after plasma treatment. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 2318–2322, 2007     

Surface modification of textiles by glow discharge technique: Part II: Low frequency plasma treatment of wool fabrics with acrylic acid

In this study, wool fibers are modified by low frequency plasma polymerization of acrylic acid regarding to its' hydrophobic character due to cuticular cells at their surfaces. Variables of the plasma glow discharge processes were power (40–100 W) and exposure time (5–45 min). The effect of plasma modification in the performance properties of wool were investigated on the basis of hydrophilicity of wool, average wrinkle recovery angle, and breaking strength. The surface chemical structures of fabrics were examined with x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The hydrophobic wool fabric became hydrophilic after all plasma treatments except one (40W–5 min). Average wrinkle recovery angle of the treated fabrics were between 157 and 178°, while that of untreated fabric was 180°. The treated fabrics had a little bit lower angles according to the untreated fabric. However, even the lowest value as 157° means that the fabric has a good crease resistance property. The breaking strengths of fabrics were increased up to 26% after the plasma treatments. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

XLA包芯纱-棉交织物试织研究

以XLA-棉包芯纱为经纱、纯棉纱为纬纱,在Y002S型小样织机上试织了4种XLA包芯纱-棉交织物,并测试了织物的断裂强力、断裂伸长率、耐磨性和褶皱回复性。测试结果表明:相同经纱密度下,斜纹组织织物的断裂强力和断裂伸长率大于平纹组织的;经纱密度越大,织物的耐磨性和褶皱回复性越好。     

Lipases to Improve the Performance of Formaldehyde‐Free Durable Press Finished Cotton Fabrics

Lipases were used to restore partially the strength losses of cotton fabrics crosslinked with 1,2,3,4‐butanetetracarboxylic acid. The enzymatic hydrolysis of the ester linkages at low temperature and neutral pH resulted in 10% strength recovery, coupled with a slight deterioration of the crease‐resistance effect. The conventional alkaline hydrolysis provided higher strength recovery, however provoked considerable change in the durable press performance of the fabrics.