Dyeability improvement of polyester pretreated with some alkoxides

Abstract

The influence of some alkoxides in alcoholic media, having various dielectric constants, on the physical and mechanical properties was thoroughly studied in a previous work to attain silk-like polyester fibers. In this investigation, the dyeability behavior of this silk-like polyester is tried. Both immersion and padding techniques are applied in the treatment. The dyeability of the pretreated polyester fabric with disperse dyes shows some progressive improvements with lowering the dyeing temperature and/or decreasing the time of dyeing attained. Ethoxide is found to be more effective in enhancing the dyeability of polyester fabric than either methoxide or propoxide. Dyeing of the pretreated polyester fabric at the boil without using carriers or conducting high temperature/high pressure dyeing is also possible. Washing and crocking fastness are relatively enhanced. Physicochemical investigations of the dyeing process and a mathematical analysis for evenness are given. A decrease in the half dyeing time and an increase in the rate of dyeing of the pretreated polyester as compared with the untreated one are noticed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008