Relationship between curing temperature and low stress mechanical properties of titanium dioxide catalyzed flame retardant finished cotton fabric

N-methylol dimethylphosphonopropionamide is a flame-retardant agent commonly combined with melamine resin and phosphoric acid catalyst to impart flame-retardant property to cotton fabrics. A co-catalyst titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is added into the formulation in order to improve the flame-retardant performance by enhancing the crosslinking reaction and physically attaching on to cotton fabrics. The fabrics cured at temperature of 150 °C and 170 °C have a better flame-retardant ability and can withstand multiple times of home laundering compared with those cured at temperature of 110 °C and 130 °C. The flame-retardant ability is further enhanced by treating the fabrics in the presence of TiO₂. In addition, the low stress mechanical properties measured by Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabric (KES-F) are altered after flame-retardant treatment. These changes are contributed by the formation of crosslinks after treatment, acid-catalyzed depolymerization in a strong acidic medium and the presence of co-catalyst TiO₂. In addition, the properties of cotton fabrics depend greatly on the choice of curing temperature. High curing temperature usually caused poor hand properties of the fabrics due to the extensive crosslinks formation. Lastly, the existence of TiO₂ in the treatment not only improves the reaction efficiency but also has positive enhancement with respect to compressional recovery ability and tensile properties.