Reverse Micellar Dyeing of Cotton Fiber with Reactive Dyes: A Study of the Effect of Water pH and Hardness

Effects of hardness and the pH value of water in a water pool on PEG-based nonionic surfactant dyeing of cotton fiber with reactive dyes in a heptane reverse micelle system were investigated in terms of the color yield, reflectance, CIE L*a*b* value, and unlevelness. Results reveal that the effect of the water-pool pH value on the color yield and reflectance are more significant than the effect of hardness in the water pool. The dyed fabrics under an alkaline water-pool condition obtain a lower color yield and higher reflectance percentage than those under acidic and nearly neutral conditions. The increase of hardness in a water pool has higher influence on unlevelness of dyed samples than the increase or decrease of the pH value in a water pool. The changes in hardness and the pH value in a water pool did not result in a significant change in CIE L*a*b* values of dyed specimens, and no chromatic change was found in dyed fabrics. Excellent washing fastness results of the dyed fabrics, guaranteeing adequate removal of unfixed dyes, assure accuracy of the results in a spectrophotometric measurement.