Abstract
ALL available methods of imparting a permanent set to strained wool fibres are based on two consecutive intramolecular reactions, namely, disulphide bond breakdown, which promotes relaxation, and linkage rebuilding, which fixes the relaxed structure in its deformed state. The linkage rebuilding reactions are complex1, but when a boiling 2 per cent solution of borax is used as the setting agent, one important reaction is that between the sulphenic acid, formed by breakdown of the disulphide bond, and the basic side-chains ; set fibres contain fewer free lysine side-chains than untreated fibres2, and fibres treated with 1-fluoro-2 : 4-dinitrobenzene acquire much less set than untreated fibres3. In striking contrast with these observations, it has now been found that the lysine side-chains play little, if any, part in the setting of strained fibres in a boiling solution of sodium bisulphite.
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References
Speakman, J. B., and Stoves, J. L., J. Soc. Dyers and Colourists, 53, 236 (1937).
Asquith, R. L., and Speakman, J. B., Proc. Int. Wool Text. Res. Conf., Vol. C., Pt. 2, 302 (1955).
Farnworth, A. J., and Speakman, J. B., Nature, 161, 890 (1948).
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ASQUITH, R., SPEAKMAN, J. & TØLGYESI, E. Chemical Mechanism of Permanent Set. Nature 180, 502 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/180502a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/180502a0
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