Synthesis of a new cationic surfactant for the alkaline hydrolysis of solvent-pretreated polyester fabrics

The synthesis of a cationic surfactant was based on diethanolamine and alkyl halides such as cetyl bromide with epichlorohydrin as a quaternizing agent. It was characterized by the elemental microanalysis of nitrogen and chloride and infrared spectroscopy. Polyester (PET) crepe fabric was pretreated with a series of solvents, including tetrachloroethane and tetrachloroethylene, at 25, 50, and 100°C. Untreated and solvent-pretreated PET fabric was hydrolyzed with 8 g/L NaOH at 100°C in the absence and presence of a cationic surfactant as a catalyst, and the weight loss was determined. The effects of solvent pretreatment on alkaline hydrolysis and PET dyeing were also examined. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 1652–1660, 2002.