A Progress Report on Cyanoethylated Cotton

Abstract

The mechanism of cyanoethylation of cotton is discussed, and it is shown that for best effi ciency the pick-up of sodium hydroxide must not exceed 15% of the weight of the cotton. Measurements of physical properties show that any increases in the breaking strength or elon gation of yarns are results of changes in frictional forces. The physical properties of cyano ethylated fabrics reflect the properties of the yarn and are also dependent on fabric construction. Extremely high resistance to flat abrasion is obtained with high cyanoethyl substitution. The density of cyanoethylated cotton is shown to be linearly related to the nitrogen content, and the spread of values obtained has been found to give an estimate of the uniformity of treatment. Cyanoethylated cotton can be dyed by methods developed for polyacrylonitrile fibers such as those employing acid dyes in the presence of cuprous ion, and the dyed samples so produced are suitable for cross sectioning for microscopic examination. The intensity of dye color can be used as a measure of the amount of cyanoethylation.