Functionalisation of lyocell. Part 1: Amination of lyocell with m‐phenylenediaminesulphonic acid derivatives

A series of four colourless, water‐soluble agents, based on m‐phenylenediaminesulphonic acid, and designed to aminate lyocell, have been synthesised. Each agent carried one or two aromatic amino groups ortho to a water solubilising sulphonic acid group, together with one or two electrophilic groups. The electrophilic groups studied were dichlorotriazinyl, monochlorotriazinyl, vinylsulphonyl and triazinyl betaine. The agents were applied to lyocell by padding techniques, and neutral‐exhaustion dyeing of the aminated fibres, with low, medium and high reactivity reactive dyes, in the presence of salt, were performed. Only the high reactivity dichlorotriazinyl dye gave encouraging results. The aminated fabrics, containing aromatic amino groups with an o‐sulphonic acid, were insufficiently nucleophilic to allow significant covalent bonding with the low/medium reactivity dyes at both 60 and 80 °C.