Preparation of melamine‐formaldehyde encapsulated fluorescent dye dispersion and its application to cotton fabric printing

In this study, CI Solvent Yellow 43 was encapsulated by melamine‐formaldehyde (MF) resin via in situ polymerisation to prepare the core‐shell structured fluorescent pigment. Fourier Transform‐infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were used to characterise the encapsulated CI Solvent Yellow 43, indicating that MF successfully encapsulated CI Solvent Yellow 43 and that a core‐shell structure was formed. The prepared MF encapsulated fluorescent dye dispersion was also applied to flat screen printing of cotton fabrics, and the colour properties and fastness properties (washing and rubbing fastness) of printed fabrics were studied. The results showed that the encapsulated CI Solvent Yellow 43 printed cotton fabric exhibited a higher chroma and fluorescence intensity than that printed with unencapsulated CI Solvent Yellow 43. Moreover, the washing and rubbing fastness of the encapsulated CI Solvent Yellow 43 printed fabric was improved.