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Polycarboxylic acids have been used as nonformaldehyde durable press finishing agents for cotton fabrics. Previously, we found that itaconic acid (IA) polymerized in situ on cotton fabric and also in an aqueous solution in the presence of a K2S2O8/NaH2PO2 initiation system. Both poly(itaconic acid) (PIA) and the polymer formed by in situ polymerization of IA are able to crosslink cotton cellulose, thus imparting wrinkle resistance to cotton. In this research, we compared the performance of the cotton fabric crosslinked by PIA and that crosslinked by in situ polymerization of IA. The fabric treated with PIA and that treated with IA had similar wrinkle recovery angles. The cotton fabric treated with IA, however, lost more tensile strength than that treated with PIA due to cellulose degradation. We determined the magnitude of the fabric tensile strength loss attributed to crosslinking by separating the tensile strength loss due to cellulose degradation from the total tensile strength loss, and found that the tensile strength loss caused by crosslinking for the fabric treated with PIA was significantly higher than that for the fabric treated with IA. This can probably be attributed to more concentrated crosslinkages formed on the near surface of the PIA-treated cotton fabric. PIA had poorer penetration into the amorphous cellulose region in fiber interior due to its much larger molecular size, thus increasing its concentration on the fabric's near surface. The data also suggest that more concentrated crosslinkages on the fabric surface reduced fabric abrasion resistance. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 2023–2030, 2003

Multifunctional carboxylic acids have been used as nonformaldehyde durable press finishing agents for cotton. In previous research we found that maleic acid (MA) and itaconic acid (IA) polymerize in situ on cotton fabric at elevated temperatures when both potassium persulfate (K2S2O8) and sodium hypophosphite (NaH2PO2) are present, thus imparting wrinkle resistance to the treated cotton fabric. We also found that MA and IA polymerize in aqueous solutions in the presence of K2S2O8 and NaH2PO2. In this research, we compared the effectiveness of poly(itaconic acid) (PIA) applied to cotton fabric as a polymer and IA applied as a monomer and allowed to polymerize in situ for crosslinking cotton cellulose. We found that IA is more effective in esterifying cotton cellulose and imparting a high level of wrinkle resistance to the fabric as it polymerizes in situ than PIA applied as a polymer. We also found that tensile strength loss of the cotton fabric crosslinked by IA polymerizing in situ as a function of fabric wrinkle recovery angle is practically the same as that crosslinked by PIA applied as a polymer. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 79: 319–326, 2001

Polycarboxylic acids have been used as crosslinking agents for cotton fabrics and paper to replace the traditional formaldehyde-based reagents. Previously, we found that a polycarboxylic acid esterifies cotton cellulose through the formation of a five-membered cyclic anhydride intermediate. Both maleic acid (MA) and itaconic acid (ITA) are extremely difficult to polymerize under conditions normally used for free radical polymerization. It has been reported in the literature that treatment of cotton fabric with a mixture of MA and ITA significantly improved wrinkle-resistance of the fabric. In this research, we investigated the in situ copolymerization of MA and ITA on cotton fabric. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy was used to study the anhydride carbonyl formed on the cotton fabric treated with the mixtures of MA and ITA. A redox titration technique also was applied to determine the quantity of alkene double bonds on the treated fabric. It was found that free radical copolymerization of MA and ITA does not occur on the fabric at elevated temperatures when potassium persulfate is present as an initiator. It does occur, however, when both potassium persulfate and sodium hypophosphite are present on the fabric. The in situ copolymerization on the cotton fabric probably is initiated by a reduction–oxidation system. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 75: 327–336, 2000