Dyeing fine denier polypropylene fibers with phenylazo- β -naphthol-containing sulfonamide disperse dyes

A series of phenylazo-β-naphthol-containing sulfonamide disperse dyes were prepared from C.I. Acid Orange 7 by successive reactions of chlorination and amination, and their chemical structures were characterized by FTIR, ¹H NMR, and mass spectrometry. The dyes were applied to coloring of knitted fabrics from fine denier polypropylene fibers by exhaust dyeing and their optimal dyeing conditions, such as dyebath pH, dyeing temperature, dyeing time, and dye concentration were investigated in detail. Then, dye exhaustion, color strength, and color fastnesses of the dyes on the fibers were assessed and summarized. In view of dye exhaustion and color strength of the sulfonamide dyes on fine denier PP fabrics, 90°C was selected as the best dyeing temperature at dye concentration below or equal to 3.0% owf. For achieving higher color strength, 130°C was the better choice when the dye concentration was above 3.0% owf. The sulfonamide dyes, especially secondary sulfonamide dyes, exhibited superior dye exhaustion and color fastnesses to washing, sublimation, and rubbing on fine denier PP fabrics in comparison to C.I. Solvent Yellow 14 bearing the same chromophore but without sulfonamide group.