Method for fabric treatment at low pH
View Patent ↗A composition useful for treating fabrics. The composition contains a silver-containing copolymer having polymerized units of a monomer X which is an ethylenically unsaturated compound having a substituent group selected from an unsaturated or aromatic heterocyclic group having at least one nitrogen atom and polymerized units of a monomer Y which is an ethylenically unsaturated compound selected from carboxylic acids, organosulfuric acids, sulfonic acids, phosphonic acids and esters comprising polymerized units of ethylene oxide.
1. A composition useful for treating fabric; said composition having a pH from 3 to 6 and comprising a complex of silver ion with a copolymer; said copolymer comprising: (a) 60-90 wt % polymerized units of a monomer X which is N-vinylimidazole; and (b) 10-40 wt % polymerized units of a monomer Y which is an ethylenically unsaturated compound selected from carboxylic acids, sulfonic acids, and esters comprising polymerized units of ethylene oxide; wherein the copolymer comprises 5 wt % to 15 wt % silver, based on total copolymer weight.
2. The composition of claim 1 , wherein monomer Y comprises an ethylenically unsaturated compound selected from (meth)acrylic acid, (meth)acrylic esters of at least 2 polymerized ethylene oxide residues and (meth)acryloyl esters comprising sulfonic acid functionality.
3. The composition of claim 2 , wherein the copolymer comprises 65-90 wt % polymerized units of monomer X and 10-35 wt % polymerized units of monomer Y.
4. The composition of claim 3 having a pH from 3 to 5.5.
5. The composition of claim 4 in which monomer Y is selected from esters of polymerized units of ethylene oxide comprising at least 3 units of ethylene oxide, wherein the polymerized units of ethylene oxide are capped with a C 1 -C 6 alkyl group on one end.
6. The composition of claim 5 in which the polymerized units of ethylene oxide have Mn from 250 to 600.