Formaldehyde‐free curing of cotton cellulose fabrics in anhydrous media

The effect of formaldehyde-free curing on standard cotton cellulose fabrics in anhydrous media is studied. Different crosslinkers are applied via (1) a pad-cure-dry process (solid/liquid) and (2) in a vapor chamber (solid/gas). The performance of each crosslinker and set of conditions is assessed by measuring dry crease recovery angles, DCRAs. We find that in control samples (treatment without crosslinker) the DCRAs are altered depending on the solvent. Using DMF, carbonyldiimidazole shows the best DCRA (160.1 degrees, 15 degrees higher than the non-treated fabrics). In ethyl acetate, triglycidyl isocyanurate shows the highest DCRA (22 degrees higher than the control). The most promising crosslinkers are applied with selected catalysts known from literature. Here, trigycidyl isocyanurate in combination with the superbase P4-t-Bu gives the best DCRA (35 degrees higher than the control). Using the vapor-chemical finishing, divinylsulfone as crosslinker increases the DCRA to 162.7 degrees (18 degrees higher than non-treated fabrics). Hence, cotton cellulose fabrics can be successfully finished in anhydrous conditions. (c) 2019 The Authors. Journal of Applied Polymer Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 48371.