ABSTRACT

Polycarboxylic acids (PCA), applied with catalysts based on phosphorus- containing inorganic acids, have been found to produce fabrics with excellent smooth-drying properties and better strength retention than fabrics treated with methylol derivatives of cyclic ureas. Since these acids contain only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, there has been no method available for the quantitation of the polycarboxylic acids on fabrics either directly or as a reference. Recently the use of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) to determine the relative amount of PCA's on cotton fabrics has been reported. Ratio of the carbonyl peak at 1730 cm^-1 to the CH₂-bending peak in cellulose at 1373 cm^-1 has given excellent quantitative results for cottons treated with BTCA. This paper describes the extension of this method to other polycarboxylic acids of potential commercial importance.