Aqueous Processes for Dyeing Generic, Unmodified Polypropylene Fiber

Acid leuco vat dyeings of polypropylene (PP) fabrics in combinations of a trichromatic series of colorants (red, yellow and blue) plus an orange were performed in order to determine the compatibility of the component colorants in the developed single stage, batch exhaust dyeing process reported earlier.[1, 2] Cross-section micrographs of dyed fibers revealed the absence of “ring-dyeing”. Tensile tests and X-ray crystallinity results confirmed that the developed dyeing process did not significantly alter the tensile strength and modulus of the dyed PP textiles. PP fabrics dyed with simulated, continuous acid vat dyeing processes (pad-steam and pad-dry heat) demonstrated good color yields and levelness with adequate fastness to crocking, washing and dry cleaning.