Wrinkle-resistant finishing with dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) — the effect of co-catalyst

In the past, wrinkle-resistant finishes on cotton fabrics involved the application of melamine—formaldehyde- or urea— formaldehyde-based resins with many more recent agents being based on dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU). This study reports that the DMDHEU—TiO₂ combination can enhance the wrinkle-resistance of cotton fabrics. The addition of TiO₂ or nano-TiO₂ in the treatment can also act as a multi-functional finishing agent to improve the UV protection property. Moreover, it was found that addition of TiO ₂ or nano-TiO₂ could slightly increase the tearing strength of test specimens to compensate for the drawbacks of DMDHEU. However, the addition of metal oxide did not significantly improve the tensile strength of specimens. In addition, it was found that while DMDHEU-treated cotton specimens contained small quantities of free formaldehyde, these levels are reduced when nano-TiO₂ is added to the treatment.