Crosslinking of sulfonated cotton cellulose - Part I: Crosslinking and physical properties of DMDHEU-treated fabrics

Various degrees of sulfonated and unsulfonated cotton fabric samples are treated with DMDHEU in the presence of a mixed catalyst under mild curing temperatures. At a given DMDHEU concentration in the bath, the nitrogen contents of the finished fabrics increase with increasing degrees of sulfonation, while the formaldehyde content decreases. Delta WCRA values increase with increasing sulfonation at the same values of Delta DCRA and Delta TSR. For a given value of CL/AGU, the Delta WCRA and CL length values increase as the sulfonation degree of the fabrics increases.