ABSTRACT

Cotton fabrics were crosslinked with dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) and with 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) by conventional pad-dry-cure and delayed cure processes. The abrasion resistance of the crosslinked fabrics was compared by observing damage to trouser cuffs and shirt collars made from them during repeated laundering and tumble drying. Twill cuffs crosslinked with BTCA in a delayed cure process catalyzed with sodium hypophosphite had superior resistance to abrasive damage, during laundering, as compared with DMDHEU-finished fabric with equivalent durable press (DP) performance, when the BTCA- containing fabric was cured for 2 min at 180EC. Substituting a 10-min cure at 160EC substantially decreased the BTCA-finished fabric's abrasion resistance. After a conventional cure process, the BTCA-finished fabric had no clear advantage in abrasion performance. Effects of adding triethanolamine (TEA) or TEA-HCl to BTCA pad baths and of adding a polyethoxylated quaternary ammonium salt to BTCA or DMDHEU pad baths were investigated. TEA improved the fabrics' abrasion resistance more consistently than TEA-HCI, but did so at the cost of lowered DP performance. The quaternary salt improved the abrasion resistance of both BTCA- and DMDHEU-finished fabrics, but yellowed the latter.