Assessment of colour differences of some disperse dyes on polyester microfibre fabrics

Abstract

The assessment of color difference values of different molecular sized disperse dyes, which are used for dyeing polyester fabrics, was carried out. The mechanism of disperse dyeing follows Nernst partitioning isotherm and the dyeing rate depends on the concentration of dye in solution, specific surface area of fibers, and the diffusion coefficient of the dye. The color difference values of two microfiber fabrics and a conventional polyester fabric are calculated for two disperse dyes at increasing dye concentrations. The values were found to depend on the molecular size and concentration of the disperse dyes used for dyeing, hue of the dye, the properties of the fibers, and weave pattern. A Macbeth MS 2020+ reflectance spectrophotometer interfaced to a personal computer was used to obtain the results of the dyeing experiments. The color differences obtained for small molecular sized disperse dyes point that their interaction with the molecular size and dye concentration are also important in measuring and understanding the reflectance and color difference of dyed polyester fabrics. Mirror-like effect of the twill weave patterns is also associated with the molecular structure and hue of disperse dyes.