Crosslinking: A Route to Improve Cotton Performance.

The article discusses a method for improving cotton performance which involves crosslinking cotton cellulose using chemical agents with multiple functional groups reactive to cellulosic hydroxyl groups. Multi-functional carboxylic acids are cited as the most promising nonformaldehyde crosslinking agents when sodium hypophosphite was utilized as the catalyst. Information is also presented on the mechanism of cotton ester crosslinking and its catalysis.