Fotolia
Cotton is a natural polymer. It is a polysaccharide composed of long, unbranched chains of glucose residues. Bundles of cellulose molecules are held together by hydrogen bonds. In the presence of water these hydrogen bonds can break and reform in a different place, which can lead to creasing of cotton fabrics. Ruth Benerito devised a way of providing more permanent cross-links between the polymer chains that would not be broken during normal washing, so leading to the advent of easy-care and permanent-press garments.
See a video of Benerito’s work on ChemistryReviewOnline.
Your organisation does not have access to this article.
Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise
Subscribe
