Characterization of cotton fabrics treated with glyoxal and glutaraldehyde

Comparison was made for glyoxal- and glutaraldehyde-treated cotton fabrics. Crosslinking efficiency between cellulose and dialdehyde measured by wrinkle recovery angle was higher with glutaraldehyde than with glyoxal. This disparity was presumably due to different forms of two dialdehydes in aqueous solution that were confirmed by FTIR and UV-visible spectroscopies. Such difference in hydrated forms along with easy formation of oligomeric and polymeric forms in glyoxal could influence on sorption and reactivity of the dialdehydes with cellulose. Staining and water imbibition values and various thermal parameters, such as percent residue, differential thermogravimetric peak temperature, and maximum rate of weight loss, also supported high crosslinking efficiency of glutaraldehyde. The presence of unreacted aldehyde groups within the treated fabrics was confirmed by FTIR analysis. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 2691–2699, 1999