Crosslinking reaction of poly(vinyl alcohol) with glyoxal

Crosslinking reactions are one of the most commonly used techniques to improve physical properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Commonly used crosslinkers for these reactions are di-functional compounds, such as glutaraldehyde and glyoxal. The hydroxyl groups of PVA react with aldehydes via formation of acetal bonds hence corsslinking could take place. Quantitative analysis of glyoxal crosslined PVA will be described in this report. A convenient FTIR method has been established to analyze degree of crosslinking in PVA. Analysis by (1)H NMR spectroscopy methods will also be described.