The use of dendrimers to modify the dyeing behaviour of reactive dyes on cotton

Cotton fabric which had been pretreated with a dendrimer displayed markedly enhanced colour strength with reactive dyes, even when dyeing had been carried out in the absence of both electrolyte and alkali. Competitive dyeing of untreated and dendrimer pretreated cotton suggests that the dendrimers offer the potential for differential-dyeing patterning possibilities. When non-competitively dyed, dendrimer pretreatment also enhances colour strength. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.