Hydrolysis Used to Locate Cross-Links
Chemical & Engineering News · 1963
Changes in physical properties of cross-linked cotton fabrics appear to depend more on the location of the cross-link in the fine structure of the cellulose than they do on its exact chemical nature and position on the anhydroglucose ring, according to Dr. D. M. Jones of Shirley Institute in Manchester, England. Controlled acid hydrolysis helps distinguish between the different types of oxymethylene links present in cottons treated with formaldehyde and methylene chloride, he told the Twelth Chemical Finishing Conference of the National Cotton Council of America, in Washington, D.C. Relative rate constants for the individual reactions taking place during the removal of formaldehyde from the cross-linked cottons by acid hydrolysis were compared with the relative rate constants of a series of model compounds containing the type of oxymethylene bridges expected in chemically modified fabrics. Since the position and type of the oxymethylene bridges in the relatively simple model compounds are known, the comparisons give a ...