Studies of Foam Finished Cotton Fabrics Using FT-IR Photoacoustic Spectroscopy

Cotton fabrics were treated with dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) and methylated DMDHEU using conventional padding and a foam finishing tech nique. The finished fabrics were studied using Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (FT-IR/PAS). Both finishing agents appeared to have a more homo geneous distribution in the foam finished fabrics than in the conventionally finished fabrics. This probably explains the observation that wrinkle recovery angle was generally higher for foam finished fabrics than for conventionally finished fabrics, since a more homogeneous distribution of the finishing agents allows more cotton cellulose to be crosslinked throughout the fabrics.