DETERMINATION OF POLYCARBOXYLIC ACIDS ON COTTON FABRIC BY FT-IR SPECTROSCOPY

Polycarboxylic acids, applied with catalysts based on phosphorus-conta ining inorganic acids, have been found to produce cotton fabrics with excellent smooth-drying properties and better strength retention than fabrics treated with methylol derivatives of cyclic ureas. Unfortunate ly, there has been no method available for the quantitation of the pol ycarboxylic acids on fabrics either directly or as a reference. Recent ly the use of infrared spectroscopy to determine the amount of BTCA (b utanetetracarboxylic acid) on cotton fabrics has been reported. Ratio of the ester/acid carbonyl peak at 1730 cm-1 to the CH2-bending peak i n cellulose at 1373 cm-1 has given excellent quantitative results for cotton treated with this acid. The extension of the method to citric a cid, another polycarboxylic acid of potential commercial importance is described.