In this research, the pH-dependency of ester crosslinking of contton ceullulsoe by BTCA was studied. It was found that the effectiveness of BTCA decreased as the pH of a BTCA solution increeased, but the pH-dependency was less significant in pH range 2.2-2.8 than in a higher pH range. The wrinkle resistance and the amount of ester formed on cotton fabric treated with 6.0% BTCA at pH 2.8 was similar to that on the fabric treated with BTCA at pH 2.2, and was much higher than that treated with BTCA of pH 4.0. The tensile strength of the crosslinked fabric was also pH dependent. A BTCA solution with a lower pH resulted in more diminished fabric tensile strength. BTCA at pH 2.8 caused significantly lower cellulsoe degradation than that at pH 2.2, wheeas it still smintained a high level of effectiveness for crosslinking cotton. Therefore, it was concluded that BTCA at pH 2.8 provides both a high level of crosslinking effectiveness and a high level fo fabric strength retention.
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