Buletinul Institutului Politehnic din Iași Secția Chimie și Inginerie Chimică ISSN: 2537-2947
ISSN-L: 0254-7104
2025, Volume 71(75), Issue 3 (September), pp. 85 - 121
Review - Chemical Functionalization of Cotton Fabrics by Selective
Oxidation
ROMEO PRUNEANU, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iași, Faculty
of Industrial Design and Business Management, Iași, Romania,
romeo.pruneanu@student.tuiasi.ro VASILICA POPESCU, “Gheorghe Asachi”
Technical University of Iași, Faculty of Industrial Design and Business
Management, Iași, Romania MELINDA PRUNEANU, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical
University of Iași, Faculty of Industrial Design and Business Management,
Iași, Romania,
melinda.pruneanu@academic.tuiasi.ro
Abstract This documentary study presents the possibilities of
selective oxidation by sodium or potassium periodate and/or
2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl (TEMPO) of cotton textiles, the reaction
mechanisms, the assessment and the analytical and instrumental determination
of the degree of oxidation of the hydroxyl groups in the C2, C3 and C6
positions of the anhydroglucosidic unit (AGU), with aldehyde/carboxylic
groups. The effects of selective oxidation on the molecular and
morphological structure of cellulose are also briefly presented, since
oxidation depending on the reaction conditions can significantly affect both
the amorphous and crystalline areas of cellulose, at the microfibril level,
which leads to a decrease in mechanical resistance, which is undesirable in
the case of textiles with long-term use or even single-use. Selective
oxidation in this case is a compromise between functionality (expressed by
the content of aldehyde/carboxylic groups) and moderate degradation of the
molecular and morphological structure of cotton cellulose. Keywords:
oxidized cellulose, sodium or potassium periodate, TEMPO, aldehyde and
carboxyl groups, degree of oxidation