The use of a built-in tertiary amine salt as a catalyst for the reaction of cotton with substituted cyclic ureas has been investigated, with emphasis on the reaction of 1,3-bis(hydroxymethyl)-imidazolidinone-2 (called dimethylolethyleneurea or DMEU). Both organic and inorganic acid salts of diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) cotton have been found to be catalytically active. The effects of reaction temperature, concentration of reagent in the pad bath, and solvent media were studied. DEAE-cotton in the hydroxide form catalyzed the DMEU-cotton reaction only in 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol solvent. The very reactive DMEU could be used as finishing agent in a delayed-cure process with the hydrochloride of DEAE-cotton. A similar tertiary amine hydrochloride catalyst, introduced as an external catalyst in the pad bath, was found to be unsuitable for the delayed-cure process with DMEU.

A method has been developed for the rapid analysis of water adsorbed on cotton or modified cottons. The sample is extracted with anhydrous acetone and the solution is chromatographed on a Porapak T column. Quantitation is based on an internal methanol standard. Formaldehyde, which can also be extracted in acetone, can be measured. An application of the method to the analysis of some flame-retardant fabrics is also described.

Tertiary amine groups of diethylaminoethyl cotton are internal catalysts for the reaction of cellulose hydroxyls with anhydrides to form esters. These cellulose esters are stable to mild acid steeping but hydrolyze under mild basic conditions. Anhydrides containing halogen atoms yield products with increased resistance to rot. None of the anhydrides employed produced fabrics with increased crease recovery, abrasion resistance, or breaking strength.

SynopsisEffects of liquid ammonia and mercerizing-strength caustic as pretreatments upon textile properties of cotton sheeting modified with butadienediepoxide (BDO) catalyzed by 2% and 15% NaOH were compared. Tensile properties of the NaOH-mercerized control (CM) (celluloses I and 11) greatly exceeded those of native (cellulose I) and ammonia-treated (NH3) controls. NH3(I) and NH3(III) are those cottons having the cellulose I and mixed celluloses I and I11 lattices, respectively. Resistance to flex abrasion was doubled by pretreatments. Wrinkle recoveries of all controls were equivalent, but tensile recovery differed. BDO reaction enhanced wrinkle recovery of controls but produced the usual losses in tensile properties and resistance to flex abrasion associated with crosslinking reagents. BDO reaction nullified the initial tensile advantage held by CM cotton. Tear strengths of all BDO-treated cottons remained comparable. High dry and high wet recoveries were obtained only when 2% NaOH catalyzed the BDO reaction and were greatest for NH3 cottons. BDO reaction reduced permanent set of all controls and increased tensile recovery primarily by enlarging the delayed recovery. Postmercerization with 23% NaOH adversely affected recovery behavior of all BDO-treated cottons. Nevertheless, wrinkle and tensile recoveries of postmercerized NH3(I) and CM cottons were equivalent. Postmercerization partially restored fabric properties of BDO cottons with cellulose I lattice to those of their respective controls; no change was noted for corresponding products from CM cottons. Because of this, final properties of products from NH3(I) cottons equaled and even exceeded those of comparable CM cottons.