Christopher M. Carr

Negative ion time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) analysis of rigorously cleaned untreated, hydroxylamine and potassium hydroxide (KOH)-treated wool fabrics, produced with minimal finishing, has revealed the possible presence of hitherto unidentified bound acids at the surface of the wool fibre. Spectral peaks have been assigned to C₈ through to C₂₂ fatty acids, the odd numbered acids of which have been assigned to anteiso acids, (a), akin to the anteiso acid 18-methyleicosanoic acid known to be the dominant fatty acid bound to keratin fibre surfaces. This has included the assignment of some small peaks to hydroxylated aC₁₈H₃₆(OH)COS⁻ and aC₂₀H₄₀(OH)COS⁻ species, where the hydroxyl group is attached to the asymmetric 16 or 18 numbered carbon atom in the alkyl chain, respectively. The study has confirmed that many of the acids are bound to the fibre surface by thioester linkages (about 70%) and that the remainder is bound by oxygen ester acyl linkages. ToF-SIMS analysis of hydroxylamine-treated wool has confirmed the removal of all the thioester bound surface lipids, as well as lesser quantities but not all of the acyl bound lipids. In contrast, a 2 h KOH treatment removes all surface accessible bound lipids. Positive ion ToF-SIMS spectral analyses have not proved useful in characterising the possibly thiol rich fibre surface remaining after hydroxylamine treatment. The formation of characteristic immonium ions from surface cysteine residues after hydroxylamine treatment has been shown not to occur for free cysteine and so is unlikely to occur for such residues at the wool fibre surface. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses have also been performed to assess the extent of the hydroxylamine reaction with the fibre. The implications of these findings for currently proposed models of the wool fibre surface, and for exploiting reactions of hydroxylamine followed by other electrophilic reagents to produce modified wool surfaces, are also discussed.

For millennia, iron-tannate dyes have been used to colour ceremonial and domestic objects shades of black, grey, or brown. Surviving iron-tannate dyed objects are part of our cultural heritage but their existence is threatened by the dye itself which can accelerate oxidation and acid hydrolysis of the substrate. This causes many iron-tannate dyed textiles to discolour and decrease in tensile strength and flexibility at a faster rate than equivalent undyed textiles. The current lack of suitable stabilisation treatments means that many historic iron-tannate dyed objects are rapidly crumbling to dust with the knowledge and value they hold being lost forever.

The interaction and the durability to laundering of a cationic β‐cyclodextrin derivative applied to Tencel were examined by x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The N1(s) XPS spectra of the cationic β‐cyclodextrin treated substrates revealed the presence of the applied finish on the fibre surface and that the durability of the applied finish to hand‐wash was good. However, the cationic β‐cyclodextrin derivative showed poor durability to the ISO CO6/C2S wash protocol. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The effect of sulfamic acid and urea treatments on the flame retardant properties of soybean fabric has been investigated by Limiting Oxygen Index (L.O.I.), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and X‐ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) in order to characterize both the bulk and surface properties. The sulfamic acid finish significantly reduced the soybean fabric flammability and appeared to function in the solid phase with increased char formation. Incorporation of urea into the formulation increased the level of reaction and associated weight gain. However, the wash durability of the sulfamic acid modification of the soybean fabric was limited, but after treatment with a cationic fixing agent, Matexil FC‐ER significantly increased the wash fastness and related flame retardant effect. XPS analysis demonstrated the substantivity of the cationic fixing agent to soybean fiber surface and its binding effect on the sulfamate at the fiber surface. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008