INSITU COPOLYMERIZATION AND CROSS-LINKING OF COTTON FIBERS FOR IMPROVED PERFORMANCE

A heterogeneous copolymerization of N-methylolacrylamide (NMA) and N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) with potassium persulfate was examined as a means of controlling the degree of crosslinking in a polymerization-crosslinking treatment of cotton fibers. The results indicate that in-situ copolymer composition is strongly affected by the relative adsorption/diffusion rates of the comonomers. The reaction mechanisms reveal that several competing reactions such as homo- and copolymerization of comonomers, graft copolymerization on the cellulose chains, and condensation of N-methylol with cellulose chains also result in the fixation ot comonomers in the fiber. Increases in resilience and fiber strength retention reveal a dependence on the degree of crosslinking similar to that observed previously.