Novel Reactive Dyes and their Application onto Textile Substrates by Inkjet Printing

Abstract

This paper describes the synthesis and evaluation of multifunctional reactive dyes based on dichloro-s-triazine reactive systems. The dyes were synthesised stepwise from specially synthesised dichloro-s-triazine dyes. The mono and di substituted modified dyes were synthesised by reacting one or both of the labile chlorine atom(s) in the parent dyes with “selected leaving group” under specific parameters of pH and temperature. Capillary electrophoresis was used to monitor both the course of the above reactions.The new dyes were formulated into an ink and applied on to wool fabric through inkjet printing and fixed through batching at 65°C. The percent fixation of each dye has been calculated to determine the effects the modification has had on the fixation of the dye to the wool fabric; high fixation values were obtained for all modified dyes. These prints exhibited excellent colour fastness to light.