Dyeing Properties of Cotton with Reactive Dye in Nonane Nonaqueous Reverse Micelle System

In this study, we explored the dyeing behavior of cotton with reactive dyes in poly(ethylene glycol)-based reverse micelle system in nonaqueous alkane medium of nonane (C₉H₂₀). Calibration of dyeing databases for both conventional aqueous-based dyeing method and nonaqueous nonane reverse micellar dyeing method was initially established, along with simulated dyeing of standard samples with known concentrations. Several color difference formulae were used to conduct computer color matching (CCM), by matching the color between batch samples and the standard samples, for both dyeing methods. Excellent color matching results were achieved as both dyeing methods showed that the CCM-predicted concentrations were nearly the same as the known concentrations. It indicates that utilizing nonane as a solvent to facilitate reverse micellar dyeing of cotton can achieve good color matching when compared with that of the conventional aqueous-based dyeing system. Relative unlevelness indices were used to evaluate the evenness of the dyed samples. Good to excellent levelness results were obtained, comparable to that of the conventional aqueous-based dyeing system. Color fastness to laundering of nonane reverse micellar dyed samples was found to be good for industrial applications. In addition, during the reverse micellar dyeing process, only very low level of volatile organic compound content was detected and 98% nonane could be recovered simply by fractional distillation. The results in this study explored the practical usage of nonane nonaqueous reverse micellar approach on the dyeing of cotton with the use of reactive dyes.