The roles of elevated temperature and carriers in the dyeing of polyester fibres using disperse dyes: Part 1 fundamental aspects

Abstract

This review concerns the application of disperse dyes to poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibres using aqueous immersion dyeing processes and the roles of both elevated dyeing temperatures and carriers in such dyeing systems. This part of the paper presents a review of the fundamental properties and characteristics of PET fibres, disperse dyes and dyeing accelerants. In the next part of the paper, the various theories and concepts that have been proposed to explain the promotional effects imparted by elevated dyeing temperatures and carriers to disperse dye uptake on PET and other types of fibre, are reviewed and analysed, from the viewpoints of the essential physico-chemical aspects of both the aqueous disperse dye/PET and disperse dye/carrier/PET systems. Later parts of the paper will present a mechanistic model of the disperse dye adsorption process based on dye solubility as well as a novel plasticisation model of dye diffusion.