DYEABLE CROSS-LINKED CELLULOSE FROM LOW FORMALDEHYDE AND NONFORMALDEHYDE FINISHING SYSTEMS

Regulatory limits on the amount of releasable formaldehyde govern the nature of finishing systems used for producing easy care cellulosic fa brics. Currently, the most widely used cross-linking agents for finish ing cotton textiles are formaldehyde based. One of the adverse feature s of these agents is that the finished fabrics are susceptible to form aldehyde release. Certain reactive nitrogenous additives, effective in increasing the affinity of cross-linked cellulose for anionic dyes, a lso are effective in decreasing the amount of formaldehyde released fr om finished fabrics. Some of these same reactive additives also greatl y enhance the receptivity of non-formaldehyde polycarboxylic acid cros s-linked cottons for anionic dyes. In this study, the effect of reacti ve additives on formaldehyde release from cottons finished with formal dehyde-containing agents is discussed, as are the dyeing and colorfast ness properties of these fabrics. Also examined are anionic dyeing and fastness properties of non-formaldehyde polycarboxylic acid cross-lin ked cellulosic fabrics.