Physicochemical and Sorptive Properties of a Phosphorylated Mercerized Cotton Fabric

A process of phosphorylation for a mercerized cotton kersey fabric was investigated. After wet oxidation, the phosphorus content in each sample was determined by spectrophotometric analysis. The range was 0.179 to 0.950 mmol g^-1. A significant decrease in the tensile strength of samples resulted from an increase of phosphoric acid concentration in the phosphorylating solution. The mercerization has a positive impact on the process of phosphorylation, as the phosphorus content was found to be three times higher in the samples that underwent mercerization. The sorption properties of phosphorylated cotton fabric were studied using the Cu²⁺ sorption process as a reference. The value of the static exchange capacity for the phosphorylated fabric was determined to reach its maximum when the concentration of the H₃PO₄ in the phosphorylating solution was 1.40 M, and was found to be 1.48 ± 0.11 mmol g^-1 with the phosphorus content equal to 0.898 ± 0.090 mmol g^-1. The sorption of Cu²⁺ by a single phosphorus-containing group occurred for samples with phosphorus content not exceeding 0.80 mmol g^-1. The preliminary studies of micro-quantities of ²⁴¹Am, ²³³U, and ²³⁹Pu radionuclide sorption from aqueous solutions with phosphorylated textile demonstrated the high efficiency.