Abstract
Two of the main disadvantages of cellulosic materials is that they wrinkle and shrink after washing. A special kind of finish is necessary to overcome these problems. The problem arises mainly due to swelling and breakage of hydrogen bonds during the wetting of the cellulose. Cross-links between the fibres prevent wrinkling and creasing after wetting and reduce shrinkage due to laundering. Traditionally, urea-formaldehyde and melamine-formaldehyde condensation polymers were used for the purpose, but they release harmful formaldehyde. Then came the reactant cyclic urea type, namely dimethylolethylene urea (DMEU) and dimethylol-4,5-dihydroxyethylene urea (DMDHEU), but the release of formaldehyde still persisted. Nonformaldehyde type cross-linking agents like citric acid, maleic acid and 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) are costlier and less effective.
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