Optimization of Ionic Crosslinking

Abstract

Durable press treatment with formaldehyde-based finishes produce excellent durable press performance, however they also significantly reduce the strength of the fabric and release formaldehyde, a suspected human carcinogen. Ionic crosslinking has been explored as a potential alternative for durable press treatment. Previous work has shown significant improvements in wrinkle recovery angle with carboxymethylation and ionic crosslinking of cotton fabric with cationic glycerin. Optimal conditions from previous work are further optimized and evaluated. This research models the effect of this treatment on a number of physical and chemical properties of the fabric. With selected ionic treatments, wet wrinkle recovery angles (WRA) can be increased by 83% and dry WRA can be increased by 19%. The durable press (DP) performance only increased slightly with these treatments on this fabric. There is a weak correlation between WRA and DP performance. Under certain conditions, this treatment improved WRA and DP performance, but not nearly as much as DMDHEU treatment. The treatment can produce tensile strength increases of up to 25%, breaking strain increases of up to 340%, and tear strength increases of up to 80%. This is in sharp contrast to decreases in each of these properties with DMDHEU treatment. Whiteness index (WI) of carboxymethylated and ionically crosslinked fabrics were only slightly lower than untreated fabric, while DMDHEU causes a considerable reduction in WI. Fabrics could be produced with this treatment with stiffness similar to untreated fabric, whereas DMDHEU treatment always results in considerable stiffness increase. Ionic treatment can produce a slight increase in DP performance with none of the adverse affects which are observed with traditional finishes.