Easy-care and durable press finishes

Cotton has been the most popular textile fibre for its outstanding comfort properties. But the main
disadvantage of cotton clothing is its poor dimensional stability. Cotton fabrics are prone to creasing in
both dry and wet conditions, and they also swell and shrink considerably when dipped in water. The
reaction of formaldehyde-based compounds with cellulose lead to the development of easy-care and
durable press finishes. These treatments are based on a cross-linking mechanism that avoids the
swelling of the cotton fibres. Easy care is the property associated with an improved maintenance of
cellulosic based textiles especially with respect to wrinkling and thus ironing. Durable press is a
property that allows intentionally introduced pleats in a fabric to be retained.

In addition to dimensional stability, the sheen of calendered fabrics and the stand and hand of pile
fabrics are generally improved by durable press finishes. The primary effects of the easy-care and
durable press finish on cellulosic fibres are –
 reduction in swelling and shrinkage,
 improved wet and dry wrinkle recovery,
 smoothness of appearance after drying, and
 retention of intentional creases and pleats.
The total crease recovery angle (CRA), that is the sum of the crease recovery angles of the warp and
weft directions of the fabric increases. Fabric shrinkage of less than 5 % can usually be achieved.

Major disadvantage of crosslinking finishes is a reduction in the elasticity and flexibility of the cellulose
fibres. This produces a considerable decrease in abrasion resistance and tear and tensile strengths on
natural cellulose fibres. Approximately an increase in the wrinkle recovery angle of 10° corresponds to
a loss in abrasion and tear strength of about 7 %. The dry tear strength of regenerated cellulose fibres
decreases only slightly with a crosslinking finish, but the wet tear strength actually increases because
of the strongly reduced swelling.

Definations:
 Crease : Crease is a fold in fabric introduced
unintentionally at some stages of processing.
 Crease resistance: The ability of a fabric to resist the
formation of a crease or wrinkle when slightly squeezed
is termed as crease resistance.
 Crease recovery: The ability of a fabric to recover to its
original condition is called crease recovery. This recovery
is a measure of crease resistance, specified
quantitatively in terms of the crease recovery angle
(CRA).
Reasons for crease formation
Cellulosic fabrics have a tendency to wrinkle under distortion and moist conditions. In the crystalline
regions, the cellulose chains are closely packed together, which limits mobility of the chains and the
accessibility of molecules into this region. On the other hand, chains in the amorphous and the
intermediate regions are only temporarily held together with hydrogen bonds and are easily seperated
when deformation force is applied.
When a fabric is twisted, folded or stressed, some of the hydrogen bonds at the boundary of crystalline
and amorphous regions break, and there is no reverse force to restore this bonding back into its
original arrangement. Bonds that reform at the new positions prevent the chains from returning to
their original positions. These newly formed hydrogen bonds bind the molecules in a new configuration
and the stressed shape of the fibre is just as stable now as was the original shape. The breakage of the
hydrogen bonds in the crystalline region and the formation of new hydrogen bonds in the amorphous
region cause the formation of creases.

Why damping fabric removes crease

Water facilitates the breaking of these bonds by forming
H-bonds between the water molecule and the cellulose
hydroxyls. Water acts as a lubricant, allowing the chains to
slide past one another easily. It is impossible to iron out
wrinkles from a dry garment, however when the
garment is dampened first or if a steam iron is used, the
wrinkles will iron out and the fabric becomes flat and
smooth. During dampening or steaming, hydrogen bonds
break and cellulose chains move or are straightened out
during ironing. On cooling, hydrogen bonds reformed in cellulose under flat iron state and fabric
remains stable until stressed in rewetted or moistened condition.

Mechanisms of easy-care and durable press finishing

Cellulosic fibres can readily absorb moisture. As a result, the fibres swell, which results in shrinkage.
The swelling of cellulosic fibres by moisture can be reduced by the application of self cross-linking urea
or melamine products. As the fibres swell, the fabric must crease and shrink to relieve the internal
stresses caused by the swelling. The new arrangement of the cellulose molecules in the swollen form
of the fibre is fixed by newly formed hydrogen bonds between adjacent cellulose molecules, mostly in
the amorphous fibre area. Therefore the uneven and wrinkled appearance of the cellulose fabric
remains after drying, in contrast to fabrics made of nonswelling synthetic fibres.

Cellulose cross-linkers
Cellulose cross-linkers can be classified into two categories:
(1) Aminoplast, which self-polymerise as well as cross-link with cellulose. The term is still used
occasionally for urea-formaldehyde and melamine-formaldehyde compounds.
(2) Cellulose reactants, those predominantly cross-link with cellulose, are also known as cellulose
reactants such as dimethylolethylene urea (DMEU), DMDHEU, etc.
Both types involve the reaction chemistry of formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is capable of reacting with
many active hydrogen compounds such as -OH, -NH and activated -CH

Resin finishing
Resin is a ‘solid or highly viscous substance’, which is typically convertible into polymers. Such viscous
substances can be plant derived or synthetic in origin, and they are often mixtures of organic
compounds. Resin finishing is also termed as wash-and-wear finish, anticrease finish, crease-resistant
finish, durable press finish or wrinkle-free finish.
For reduction of shrinkage, as well as for higher recovery after creasing, initially the fabric was ‘set’ by
condensation of a cross-linking resin to form a network within the fibre. First formaldehyde then
phenol-formaldehyde condensate, urea-formaldehyde resins were found to improve crease recovery
but had other disadvantages like discoloration and excessive stiffness.
However, for easy-care, the auto-condensing resins have been totally displaced by reactive cross-
linking agents typically based on cyclic ureas. These agents react directly with the hydroxyl groups on
the cellulose to form cross-links that act to lock the structure together and resist shrinkage and
deformation, conferring an improved degree of elasticity to the fibre structure.

Formaldehyde-based finish
This group principally consists of two self-polymerisable aminoplasts:
● Urea-formaldehyde (U/F)
● Melamine-formaldehyde (M/F)
A number of cellulose reactants are also manufactured from formaldehyde, including:
● DMEU
● DMDHEU
● Carbamates

Urea-formaldehyde (U/F)
Urea-formaldehyde (U/F) products are readily synthesised from aqueous solutions of urea and
formaldehyde at pH7.5–9. When 2mol of HCHO reacts with one mole of urea, dimethylol urea (DMU) is
formed. The resulting N,N'-dimethylol urea (DMU) is often modified by further reaction at pH 8–9 with
methanol to the more stable and liquid dimethylether of DMU (dimethoxymethyl urea). Being
difunctional, it is capable of serving as a cross-linking agent.
These equilibrium reactions are the reasons for high content of free and easily released formaldehyde
found with U/F products.

The main properties of U/F products are:

• DMU is highly reactive; finish baths have to be used in a few hours
• Low stability to hydrolysis, low durability to laundering
• High chlorine retention
• High content and release of formaldehyde
• Very high elastic resilience.

Melamine–formaldehyde (M/F)
Melamine–formaldehyde (M/F) products have mostly three to six reactive N-methylol groups
connected to one melamine ring. This leads to a higher crosslinking and an easy-care finish with better
wash fastnesses. Their synthesis is similar to the U/F products, providing tri- to hexamethylol melamine
(TMM, HMM) and their methyl ethers (tri- or hexamethoxymethyl melamine). TMM is preferred for
the easy-care finish. It is also used for permanent chintz (glazing, embossing, Schreinering) of
cellulosics. HMM finds additional uses in pigment binders.
The main properties of M/F products are:
• Better stability to hydrolysis and better washing durability than U/F products
• Relatively high formaldehyde content and release
• Fewer problems with chlorine retention than U/F products
• More dimensional stability and stiffness (also for nylon and polyester).
The predominant reaction of U/F and M/F products is their self condensation to three-dimensional
resin structures. These structures impart a very stiff, firm handle to fabrics.

DMDHEU
N,N'-Dimethylol-4,5-dihydroxyethylene urea (DMDHEU) is the chemical basis of about 90 % of the
easy-care and durable press finish products on the market. DMDHEU is synthesised from urea, glyoxal
and formaldehyde.

It is less reactive than DMU and TMM and therefore

requires more active catalysts. However, finish baths
containing DMDHEU are more stable than finish baths
with DMU or TMM.
The principal reaction of DMDHEU products is the
crosslinking of adjacent cellulose molecules, as shown in
Fig. 5.5. This crosslinking prevents the movement of the
fibre molecules during stress and hinders shrinkage and
wrinkle formation. This lack of molecular movement also leads to the fabric tensile strength and tear
strength loss because without crosslinking, the tear stresses can be distributed over many molecules
which can slightly shift sharing the external forces.

The main properties of DMDHEU-based products are:

• Low to very low reactivity (when ether modified)
• Excellent durability to laundering
• Low chlorine retention
• Medium to very low formaldehyde release
• The most commonly used durable press products.

Problems of Formaldehyde
There are several aspects to the ‘formaldehyde problem’.
 Formaldehyde irritates mucous membranes, causes teary eyes, induces cough, and can lead to
difficulties in breathing and headaches.
 Skin contact with aqueous solutions of formaldehyde or with textiles that contain a high level of
formaldehyde can give rise to eczema and occasional allergic reactions.
 Formaldehyde is a suspected human carcinogen.
Several countries have laws designating concentration limits for formaldehyde in the workplace. There
are also governmental restrictions (Öko-Tex Standard 100) that set limits for free or easily freed
formaldehyde in textiles. These limits are always specified by a particular test method for
formaldehyde because there are significant differences in results between the various formaldehyde
test methods.
Non-formaldehyde products –

DMeDHEU
DMeDHEU does not contain formaldehyde. It is synthesized from the relatively expensive N,N'-
dimethyl urea and gloxal and is often referred to as DMUG (dimethylurea glyoxalate) or DHDMI. The
two hydroxyl groups in the 4,5-position of DMeDHEU are less reactive than of DMDHEU and in order to
achieve comparable easy-care and durable press effects to DMDHEU, nearly twice the amount of
DMeDHEU is needed. A 100% DMeDHEU finish may not be commercially acceptable, as DMeDHEU
costs about twice as much as DMDHEU products. DMeDHEU is popular because of its reduced
formaldehyde levels with only slightly inferior physical properties at an acceptable cost.

Features of DMeDHEU finish are:

(1) Formaldehyde free
(2) Very low reactivity
(3) Stronger catalysts or harsher curing conditions needed for successful cross-linking.
(4) Very low chlorine retention
(5) Limited durability to laundering
(6) Yellowing effect when not ether modified
(7) DMeDHEU costs about twice as much as DMDHEU
(9) Development of unpleasant odors

Polycarboxylic acid
The polycarboxylic acid forms an anhydride between adjacent carboxyls, and the anhydride reacts with
the hydroxyls of the cellulose producing an ester group cross-link that has a high stability and
durability. However, dramatic tensile strength loss in the fabric is their major drawback. This is
attributed to the acid-catalysed cellulose chain cleavage.
Some of the carboxylic acid which are used for easy care finish are:
 Citric acid
 Maleic acid
 Chitosan
 BTCA (1,2,3,4- butane tetracarboxylic acid)

BTCA
BTCA and similar polycarboxylic acids can provide a formaldehyde-free creaseresistant finish (Welch,
1992). BTCA gets converted into reactive dianhydride intermediate which cross-links with cellulose (Eq.
9.22). BTCA gives rise to good crease recovery, but its laundering durability is limited due to hydrolysis
of the ester bonds to cellulose. These polycarboxylic acids are relatively expensive, comparable in cost
to DMeDHEU
In addition, the reactions of polycarboxylic acids with cellulose require large amounts of SHP as a
catalyst. Not only is SHP expensive, but it also reduces some reactive and sulphur dyes resulting
discoloration. Recently, polyacrylic acid-based products (e.g., example maleic acid anhydride
copolymers) have been introduced that provide similar properties to BTCA finishes but at a more
economical price.

Application methods
The easy-care and durable press finishes are usually applied by the following methods:
(1) Pad-dry-cure (precure method) :
the cross-linking reactant or resins, catalyst, softener and other components are padded and
dried, then cured. The garments are then manufactured with the finished fabric. Textiles with a
precured finish are most suited for fabrics and apparel that require wrinkle resistance, such as
sheeting, shirting and casual trousers. The production is high, but crease retention is poor.
(2) Pad-dry-making of garment-curing of garment (‘postcure’ or ‘delay cure’ method):
For fabrics that require crease retention, such as trousers and pleated skirts, the fabric is
padded with a durable press finish and dried. The garments are then created, followed by
curing. The creases of the garment are set appropriately. In this method, crease retention is
excellent.
(3) Spraying of garment:
If whole garments are to be treated with a durable press finish, the finishing chemicals can be
sprayed in exact doses onto the garments before the final shape is formed and cured.
(4) Impregnation/dipping of garment—centrifugation-drying-pressing or ironing:
Impregnation may also be carried out by dipping in a tumbler at room temperature into a
mixture of suitable softeners to confer specific handle characteristics and to improve some
physical properties that are adversely affected by resin treatment.