Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Polycarboxylic acids have been the most promising durable press finishing agents for cotton to replace traditional formaldehyde-based reagents. Among the various polycarboxylic acids investigated in recent years, 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) has been the most effective crosslinking agent. Cottons treated with BTCA have shown superior durable press performance with high levels of laundering durability. In this research, we analyze a reagent grade and an industrial grade BTCA using elemental analysis and acid-base titration. The titration data indicate that the industrial grade product contains approximately 95% BTCA. The two BTCA products are studied by FTIR and FT-Raman spectroscopy, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-NMR), mass spectroscopy (MS), and liquid chromatography/mass spectros copy (LC/MS). All the instrumental analysis data indicate the low level of impurities in the industrial BTCA. Cotton fabrics treated with the two products show similar durable press performance, indicating that the differences in effectiveness for crosslinking cotton between these two BTCA products are insignificant. The data also show that the impurity in the industrial grade BTCA does not cause fabric yellowing.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Brotherton. D.L. , Fung, K.W. , and Wong, K.H. , Process for Oxidation of A Tetrahydrophthalic Acid. U.S. patent 5,157,152, Oct. 20, 1992.

Casanova, E. A., Kalota, J. K., and Wagenknecht, J. H.. U.S. patent 5,248,396, Sep. 28, 1993.

Casanova, E. A., and Kalota, J. K., U.S. patent 5,298,653, May 29, 1994.

Caulifield, D.F. , Ester Crosslinking to Improve Wet Strength Performance of Paper Using Multifunctional Carboxylic Acids, Butanetetracarboxylic Acid and Citric Acid, Tappi J. 77 (3), 135-140 (1994).

Clothup, N.B. :, Daly, L. H., and Wiberley, S. E., "Introduction to Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy," ch. 9, Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 1990 , p. 458.

Dutton, M. C., Bagley, D. J., and Kalota, D. J., U.S. patent 6,020,520, Feb. 1, 2000.

Gu, X. , and Yang, C.Q. , FT-IR and FT-Raman Spectroscopy Study of the Cyclic Anhydride Intermediates for the Esterification of Cellulose, I: Formation of Anhydride without a Catalyst, Res. Chem. Intermed. 24, 979-997 (1998).

Nakazawa, M., and Fugitani, K., Process for Preparing Polycarboxylic Acid. U.S. patent 4,833,272, May 23. 1989.

Petersen, H.A. , Crosslinking with Formaldehyde-Containing Reactants, in "Chemical Processing of Fibers and Fabrics: Functional Finishes Part A," M. Lewin and S. B. Sello , Eds., Marcel Dekker. NY, 1983, pp. 47-327.

10.

Volkenburgh, R.V. , Process for Preparing 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic Acid and 1,2,3,4-Cyclopentanetetracarboxylic Acid, U.S. patent 3.218,353. Nov. 16, 1965.

11.

Wang, X.G. , Xu, J. , and Wang, D.Y. , Applications of BTCA as a Nonformaldehyde Durable Press Finishing Agent to Treat 100% Cotton Shirts, in "Proc. Textile Durable Press and Softener Finishes Quality and Application Technology Symposium." Chinese Textile Research Institute, Beijing. September. 1999, pp. 53-56.

12.

Welch, C.M. , Formaldehyde-Free Durable Press Finishes. Rev. Prog. Color. 22, 32-41 (1992).

13.

Welch, C.M. , Tetracarboxylic Acids as Formaldehyde-Free Durable Press Finishing Agents. Textile Res. J. 58, 480-486 (1988).

14.

Welch, C.M. , and Andrews, B.A.K. , Catalysts and Processes for Formaldehyde Free Durable Press Finishing of Cotton Textiles with Polycarboxylic Acids, U.S. patent 4,820,307, April 11, 1989.

15.

Xu, G. , and Yang, C.Q. , Comparison of Kraft Paper Crosslinked by Polymeric Carboxylic Acids of Large and Small Molecular Size: Dry and Wet Performance. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 74, 907-912 (1999).

16.

Xu, G. , Yang, C.Q. , and Deng, Y. , Effects of Poly(vinyl Alcohol ) on the Strength of Kraft Paper Crosslinked by a Polycarboxylic Acid, J. Pulp Paper Sci. 27 (1), 14-17 (2001).

17.

Yang, C.Q. , Xu, L. , Li, S. and Jiang, Y. Nonformaldehyde Durable Press Finishing of Cotton Fabrics by Combining Polymers of Maleic Acid with Citric Acid, Textile Res. J. 68, 457-464 (1998).

18.

Yang, C.Q. , Crosslinking Agents of Cellulose Fabrics, U.S. patent 6,165.919, Dec. 26, 2000.

19.

Yang, C.Q. and Xu, Y. , Paper Wet Performance of Ester Crosslinking of Wood Pulp Cellulose by Poly(carboxylic Acid)s. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 67, 649-658 (1998).

20.

Yang, C.Q. , and Gu, X. , FT-IR and FT-Raman Spectroscopy Study of the Cyclic Anhydride Intermediates for the Esterification of Cellulose, II: Formation of Anhydride with Sodium Hypophosphite as a Catalyst, Res. Chem. Intermed. 25, 411-424 (1999).

21.

Yang. C.Q. , and Bakshi. G. , Quantitative Analysis of the Nonformaldehyde Durable Press Finish on Cotton Fabric: Acid-base Titration and Infrared Spectroscopy. Textile Res. J. 66, 377-384 (1996).

Chemical Analysis of 1,2,3,4-Butanetetracarboxylic Acid

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References