Dyeing property of fluorescent pigment latex on cationic knitted cotton fabrics

The recognized difficulties of pigment dyeing on cotton fabric are the large particle size of the pigment and low affinity between pigment particles and cotton fabric. The dispersion stability of the pigment and binding force between pigment particles and cotton fabric are important factors. To increase the stability of pigment dispersion, fluorescent pigment latex was prepared by encapsulating poly(methyl methacrylate-co-butyl acrylate) on the surface of C.I. Solvent Yellow 43. As a reactive emulsifier, allyloxy nonyl alcohol polyoxyethylene (10) ether sulfate can copolymerize with methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate to endow the fluorescent pigment latex with negative charges. To improve the binding force between pigment particles and cotton fabric, the knitted cotton fabric was cationized. The prepared fluorescent pigment latex was further applied to dyeing of cationic fabrics by the exhaust dyeing process. Moreover, pseudo first- and second-order kinetic models were used to examine the adsorption kinetic data of fluorescent pigment latex on cationic cotton fabric. The results showed that the adsorption kinetic followed the pseudo second-order kinetic model, which indicated that the chemical sorption is a rate-limiting step, rather than mass transfer. The activation parameters were also evaluated to confirm the thermodynamic feasibility and spontaneous nature of cationic cotton dyeing with fluorescent pigment latex.