One‐bath dyeing of polyester/cotton with disperse and bis‐3‐carboxypyridinium‐s‐triazine reactive dyes. Part 1: Factors limiting production of heavy shades

Abstract

Over the last 20 years, selected disperse dyes and bis‐3‐carboxypyridinium‐s‐triazine reactive dyes have been widely promoted for the exhaust dyeing of polyester/cotton blends in a one‐bath‐one‐stage (‘all‐in’) process under neutral conditions. However, despite the time and energy savings afforded by this elegant dyeing process, there is a belief in the dyeing industry that economical production is limited to pale and medium depths of shade. In this paper, the two dye classes (disperse dyes on polyester and bis‐3‐carboxypyridinium‐s‐triazine reactive dyes on cotton) have been investigated to understand why heavy depths of shade cannot readily be obtained economically using this process.