TiO2 was used as a catalyst for crosslinking of cellulose using citric acid by pad-dry-cure method. Different factors affecting crosslinking were studied, including TiO2 concentration, curing temperature, curing time, and citric acid concentration. The results obtained indicate that TiO2 has the ability to catalyze crosslinking of cellulose with citric acid. Crease recovery angle increases with increasing TiO2 concentration; the optimum concentration was 0.6% TiO2. Also, crease recovery angle increases with increased curing time, curing temperature, and citric acid concentration. The results of whiteness index and roughness were found to be better than those obtained when using a sodium hypophosphite catalyst. The crosslinking was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. It was also found that crosslinking in the presence of TiO2 has an adverse effect on the samples dyed with reactive and direct dyes.
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