Improving the environmental and economic aspects of cotton dyeing using a cationised cotton^†

Abstract

One approach to improve the affinity of anionic dyes for cotton is to add cationic dye sites to the fibre. The dyeing behaviour of cotton that had been rendered cationic by reaction with 2,3‐epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride was examined. Dye yields and fastness properties are reported for a number of direct, reactive and acid dyes with the modified fibre. Excellent dye yields and colour fastness properties were obtained without the use of electrolytes, multiple rinsings or fixation agents which are normally employed in cotton dyeing.