Comparison of Catalytic Activities and Textile Mechanical Properties Observed in the Crosslinking of Cotton with Highly Active Catalysts2

Nine metal chlorides and mixtures of these salts with tartaric acid are compared with hydrochloric acid with regard to catalytic activity in crosslinking cotton fabrics with formaldehyde by the pad-dry-cure process. The sequence of catalytic activity can be rationalized by the hard/soft concept of acids and bases. When highly active catalysts are applied, the relation between dry crease-recovery angle and tensile strength is significantly improved for DMEU-cross-linked fabrics but only marginally improved when formaldehyde is used as the crosslinker.