Reaction of Formaldehyde and Dimethylol Urea with Unmodified and Modified Cellulose

Abstract

In order to understand the role of neutral salts in the crosslinking reaction, cellulose was deliberately oxidized with nitrogen dioxide, and the effect of oxidation on the uptake of formaldehyde and dimethylol urea by the oxycellulose both in the presence and absence of added salt was studied. The large increase in the add-on of crosslinking molecules by oxycellulose in the presence of added salt is interpreted in terms of electrostatic interactions between crosslinking molecules and cellulose, which behaves as solid polyelectrolyte under certain conditions.