Effect of sulfosuccinylation of corn starch on the adhesion to viscose fibres at lower temperature

Abstract

Acid-thinned corn starch has been sulfosuccinylated to different levels of degree of substitution to study the adhesion of starch to viscose fibres at lower temperature. The sulfosuccinylated starches with a degree of substitution range 0.009 - 0.036 have been synthesized through a two-step reaction, namely starch maleation and sulfonation. The adhesion is evaluated in term of tensile force of slightly sized roving yarns. In addition, light transmittance, surface tension and retrogradation of cooked starch paste have also been measured for revealing the reason why the improvement on the adhesion is achieved. Sulfosuccinylated starch is characterized by FTIR and DSC. It is found that the sulfosuccinylation helps to overcome inherent drawback like insufficient adhesion of starch to fibres under lower temperature. The improvement is achieved through reducing the retrogradation and surface tension of cooked starch paste under lower temperature. It is recommended that the sulfosuccinylated starch is capable of being used at the temperature of about 65 °C, without significantly exhibiting the adverse influence on the adhesion when sulfosuccinylated starch has the degree of substitution value of 0.02-0.036.