A Route and Mechanism for Improved Abrasion Resistance in Durable-Press Cotton

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Abstract
The addition of phosphate salts to the reaction of N-methylol-methacrylamide (NMMA) and cotton resulted in improved textile properties, more so for the addition of combined salts of NaH2PO4 and Na2HPO4 than for either salt alone. The NMMA-phosphate-cotton product generally displayed better overall balance of durable-press performance than did either the N-methylolacrylamide (NMA) coun terpart or the NMMA product treated with NMMA partially replaced by N- methoxymethylmethacrylamide (MMMA) or methacrylamide (MA). Phosphate salts delayed etherification between NMMA and cotton and enhanced vinyl polymeri zation of NMMA in cotton; and the partial replacement of NMMA by MMMA or MA seemed only to repress etherification crosslinking. The NMMA-phosphate-cotton product was characterized by minimal swelling in cuene, coarse fibrillation-type failure from flex-abrasion, and slightly elevated values of moisture regain, water of imbibition, and dye sorption. The beneficial effects of phosphate salts are attributed to the generation of a network polymer that effectively binds together microstructural units in a less-than-normally rigid structure.