The study of imidazoles Gemini surfactants as retarders for the dyeing of cationic dyes on polyacrylonitrile fabrics

Abstract

Alkyl imidazole cationic Gemini surfactants (AICGS) with various alkyl chain lengths were used as retarders for dyeing methylene blue (MB) on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fabrics, with benzyldimethyldodecylammonium chloride (1227) surfactant as a comparison. The exhaustion (E%) of MB on PAN fabrics was investigated at varying surfactant concentrations and dyeing temperatures. Furthermore, kinetic studies on various retarders and 10‐4‐10 AICGS concentrations were carried out. It was found that the retarding dyeing effect of AICGS is stronger when compared with the 1227 surfactant. Moreover, as surfactant concentration increased or the dyeing temperature decreased, E% was reduced drastically. For kinetic studies, the dyeing rate constant increased with an increase in dyeing temperature and a decrease in 10‐4‐10 AICGS concentration, while half‐dyeing time was reversibly decreased.