Crosslinking cotton with poly(itaconic acid) and in situ polymerization of itaconic acid: Fabric mechanical strength retention

Abstract

Polycarboxylic acids have been used as nonformaldehyde durable press finishing agents for cotton fabrics. Previously, we found that itaconic acid (IA) polymerized in situ on cotton fabric and also in an aqueous solution in the presence of a K 2 S 2 O 8 /NaH 2 PO 2 initiation system. Both poly(itaconic acid) (PIA) and the polymer formed by in situ polymerization of IA are able to crosslink cotton cellulose, thus imparting wrinkle resistance to cotton. In this research, we compared the performance of the cotton fabric crosslinked by PIA and that crosslinked by in situ polymerization of IA. The fabric treated with PIA and that treated with IA had similar wrinkle recovery angles. The cotton fabric treated with IA, however, lost more tensile strength than that treated with PIA due to cellulose degradation. We determined the magnitude of the fabric tensile strength loss attributed to crosslinking by separating the tensile strength loss due to cellulose degradation from the total tensile strength loss, and found that the tensile strength loss caused by crosslinking for the fabric treated with PIA was significantly higher than that for the fabric treated with IA. This can probably be attributed to more concentrated crosslinkages formed on the near surface of the PIA-treated cotton fabric. PIA had poorer penetration into the amorphous cellulose region in fiber interior due to its much larger molecular size, thus increasing its concentration on the fabric's near surface. The data also suggest that more concentrated crosslinkages on the fabric surface reduced fabric abrasion resistance.

Inclusion of antibacterial agent thymol on β-cyclodextrin-grafted organic cotton

“…It has been reported by Yang and collaborators that the steric hindrance of polycarboxylic acid reduces accessibility of cellulosic hydroxyl groups and reducing the amount of crosslinked product but at the same time increasing the untreated anhydride intermediate on the cellulosic particles [22]. Hence, higher concentration of CA not much influences the esterification process.…”

Compatibilization of starch/poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) blown films using itaconic acid and sodium hypophosphite

“…In different studies focusing on esterification reactions with multicarboxylic acids, the importance of sodium hypophosphite (SHP) as a catalyst has been highlighted …”

Investigation into the removal of a formaldehyde-free easy care cross-linking agent from cotton and the potential for subsequent regeneration of lyocell-type fibres

“…In order to overcome the potential effects of methylol-based easy care finishes a number of alternative zero-formaldehyde finishes based on polycarboxylic acids (PCA) have been investigated and their relative performance demonstrated (Weilin & Shyr, 2000;Xu & Shyr, 2001;Yang, 1991aYang, , 1991bYang, , 2001Yang & Andrews, 1991;Yang, Chen, Guan, & He, 2010;Yang & Dengjin, 2000;Yang, Hu, & Lickfield, 2003;Yang, Lan, Shiqi, & Yanqiu, 1998;Yun & Yang, 1999). It has been established that the PCA crosslinked the cellulose polymer, in the presence of a hypophosphite catalyst, through the formation of a fivemembered cyclic anhydride and then esterification of the cellulose polymer (Scheme 1).…”

“…Emails: liberato.haule@udsm.ac.tz; liberatohaule@yahoo.co.uk order to determine the effects of treatment conditions on the degree of cross-linking and the strength loss associated with the acid hydrolysed depolymerization (Kang et al, 1998;Yang et al, 2003). The alkali BTCA stripping treatment was based on immersion in 0.1-0.5 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution at 50 °C for 48-96 h and was clearly not a viable fibre 'production-type' process.…”