Eco‐friendly durable press finishing of cellulose‐containing fabrics

To impart easy‐care properties to cellulose‐containing fabrics along with avoiding any harmful effects of formaldehyde on both the health and the environment, attempts have been made to use citric acid (CA) as an ester crosslinking agent along with different catalytic systems in the absence and presence of certain additives. Further, fixation conditions, type of crosslinking agent, as well as type of substrate have been studied. Results revealed that the enhancement in carboxyl content, performance properties, and the decrease in tear strength (TS) as well as in whiteness indices (WI) of the finished fabric samples were increased by increasing CA concentration up to 80 g/L and by raising thermofixation temperature from 140 up to 180°C for 90 s. Inclusion of triethanolamine hydrochloride (TEA. HCl), decreased the carboxyl content, TS, color strength K/S, as well as oily stain release rating (SRR) of the finished fabric samples along with an increase in bound nitrogen (%N), wrinkle recovery angle WRA, and an improvement in WI without affecting the durable press rating (DP). Within the range examined (0–30 g/L), increasing PEG‐600 concentration improved the wet resiliency, TS, as well as WI properties of the finished samples. Increasing DMDHEU ratio in the CA/DMDHEU crosslinking system gave rise to an increase in %N, WRA (dry and wet), DP, as well as in free CH₂O of finished fabrics, along with a slight improvement in WI values. On the other hand, the TS, carboxyl content, K/S, SRR values of the finished fabric samples were lower at a higher DMDHEU ratio. Increase in carboxyl content, %N, WRA (dry and wet), DP and SRR, as well as extent of post dyeing (K/S) of the treated fabric samples upon using different ester crosslinking agents followed the descending order: citric acid > pyromellitic dianhydride. The opposite holds true for the TS, and WI values. Among the esterifying catalysts used, and for a given set of finishing conditions, NaH₂PO₂ · H₂O proved to be the most effective one, and the following order of effectiveness may be drawn: NaH₂PO₂ · H₂O > K₂HPO₄ > Na₃–citrate > Na₂–tartrate. Inclusion of silicone softener in the finishing formulation brought about an improvement in softeness degree, WRA, %N, DP, TS as well as K/S values along with a decrease in carboxyl content, SRR, and WI values of the treated fabric samples, regardless of the used silicone softener.The performance properties of the finished fabric samples were determined by the type and nature of the substrate. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 2243–2253, 2002     

The polymerization of N-vinylcarbazole in the presence of carbon black

In order to obtain more detailed information on the mechanism of the polymerization of N-vinyl-carbazole (N-VC) in the presence of carbon black, a comparison of the rates of conversion under various conditions was made and the following results were obtained. The phenolic hydroxyl groups on the surface of carbon black were found to have an ability to initiate the polymerization, and an increase in dielectric constant of the solvent increased the rate of polymerization. Using the mixture of N-VC and comonomers such as styrene or methyl methacrylate, we found that styrene gives a copolymer with N-VC, while methyl methacrylate gives no copolymer during the early stage of polymerization. The phenomena observed here indicate that the nature of polymerization of N-VC initiated by carbon black is cationic.     

Effet of Nikel Alloying on the Thermal Diffusivity/ondutivity of MgO Single rystals

The thermal diffusivity/conductivity of Ni-doped MgO single crystals was measured as a function of temperature by the laser-flash method. Nickel in the form of the substitutional solid solution, Ni²⁺, has a much greater effect on the thermal diffusivity / conductivity than precipitated Ni colloids. These results are discussed in terms of phonon and photon scattering effects.     

Antimicrobial protection of cotton and cotton/polyester fabrics by radiation and thermal treatments. I. Effect of ZnO formulation on the mechanical and dyeing properties

Cotton and cotton/polyester fabrics were treated against microbial attack by applying a formulation based essentially on ZnO under high‐energy radiation and thermal curing. To achieve the homogeneity and the reactivity of the treating formulation, a binder (Impron MTP) and a dispersing agent (Setamol WS) were used with ZnO. The antimicrobial property of the fabrics was evaluated, in terms of mechanical properties, by a soil burial test. Moreover, the effect of antimicrobial finishing on the dyeing properties in terms of color strength was investigated. It was found that the best composition that affords the best antimicrobial protection to cotton fabrics contains 2% ZnO, 2% binder, and 1% dispersing agents. For the cotton/polyester blend, the best results were achieved at the same conditions except the ZnO was 1%. It was found that the treatment under the effect of electron‐beam irradiation is better than that of gamma irradiation and thermal curing. The results showed that when the finishing process was carried out before dyeing with a reactive dye, it affects the color strength rather than performing the finishing after the dyeing process. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1129–1137, 2003     

Toughening by Monoclinic Zirconia

The toughening induced by monoclinic ZrO₂ in the absence of microcracking was investigated, using ZnO as the host material. Toughness levels K_c in excess of the host toughness K_c^M were achieved, attaining a peak toughness K_c/K_c^M ∼1.7, at monoclinic ZrO₂ volume concentrations 0.2. This toughening is attributed to crack/particle interactions, associated with the deflection and bowing of the crack by the residual strain field around the monoclinic ZrO₂ particles.     

Catalyzing the curing reaction of a new benzoxazine-based phenolic resin

The effect of potential catalysts on the curing reaction of a new type of phenolic resins obtained from benzoxazine precursors is studied. These novel resins solve the shortcomings of traditional phenolics because they cure by a ring-opening mechanism that avoids the release of volatiles. Isothermal and nonisothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data is used to determine the influence of the catalysts on the curing kinetics. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is also applied. The benzoxazine chosen for this study is a purified benzoxazine monomer based on bisphenol-A, formaldehyde, and aniline. The as-synthesized benzoxazine precursor is also studied to determine the influence of the dimers and higher oligomers in the curing mechanism. The presence of these structures seems to catalyze the curing reactions. The activation energy and overall reaction order of the as-synthesized precursor are determined. Among the catalysts tested, adipic acid shows the most promising results. For all the cases studied the curing reaction is autocatalyzed up to a diffusion-controlled stage. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

NMR and sedimentation studies of a polymeric steric stabilizer for alumina

The sedimentation behavior of alumina powder has been studied in the presence of poly-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and poly(vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate) (PVP/VA) in both thermodynamically “good” and “poor” solvents for the PVP homopolymer. PVP/VA provides higher sediment densities than does its PVP homopolymer counterpart. Solutionstate ¹³C-T₁ spin-lattice relaxation measurements were made on analogous mixtures both with and without alumina powder. The NMR results suggest that the PVP/VA copolymer is anchored to the alumina powder surface by means of VA moieties, whereas the PVP moieties extend into the continuous phase of the slurry medium. Thus, the higher settling densities that are observed in the presence of PVP/VA can be attributed to a steric stabilization mechanism. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Reciprocating flow ion exchange part II: Application to saline water softening

The “hardness” components in sea water can be considerably reduced by means of a new economical fixed bed technique called “Reciprocating Flow Ion Exchange”, when used in conjunction with a closed cycle exchanger-evaporator system. Removal of 87.9% of the calcium and 54.5% of the magnesium in sea water has been obtained with an overall flow rate of 5.0 U. S. g. p. m./sq. ft. Results from bench scale and a 5,000 g. p. d. pilot plant were identical. The virtually continuous cyclic steady-state process requires a small amount of exchanger (0.5 to 2% of the usual ion exchange methods, such as conventional fixed beds or fluidized beds). The effects of variation in operating parameters are discussed.