The water-adsorption isotherms of three wools a nd mohair have been determined at 25°C. Analysis of the isotherms by means of the Hailwood-Horrobin equation showed that the fraction accessible to water molecules varied from 0.70 for Lincoln wool to 0.60 for mohair. In the case of Lincoln wool which had been esterified with methyl alcohol, however, the accessible fraction was 0.63, and, since esterification is unlikely to increase crystallinity, it is concluded that the Hailwood-Horrobin analysis of water-adsorption isotherms must not be relied on for quantitative estimation of the fraction accessible to water molecules, though it may give the correct order of crystallinity of different keratins.
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Nicholls et al. (1955) studied this question.