Wrinkle Recovery for Cellulosic Fabric by Means of Ionic Crosslinking

Methods are developed for imparting crease angle recovery performance to cellulosic fabrics based on durable ionic crosslinks. These methods, which avoid the formaldehyde release of conventional finishes, include treating cellulose with chloroacetic acid (or an other reactive anion) and cationized chitosan (or another polycation). Alternative methods include treating cellulose with 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride or another cationization reagent) and a polyanion, or with chloroacetic acid and 3-chloro- 2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride. A method for producing highly cationic chitosan is also presented. Crease angle recovery and strength data are correlated to the amount of polyelectrolyte add-on.