A novel and eco-friendly approach for dyeing polyester fabrics by liquid disperse dyes treated with deep eutectic solvent

Disperse dyes do not contain water-soluble groups and are difficult to dissolve in water, so they cannot be directly formulated into dyeing liquor. In the current dyeing process, the solubility of disperse dyes is mainly improved by adding dispersants. However, dispersants are not absorbed by fibres and survive in the dyeing effluent, aggravating the pollution of water bodies and causing difficulties in treatment. Therefore, the development of a novel, eco-friendly dyeing approach is important to overcome these problems. Herein, for the purpose of improving the solubility of disperse dyes and reducing the dosage of dispersants, a deep eutectic solvent consisting of choline chloride/ethylene glycol was employed instead of dispersant to dissolve CI Disperse Blue 79 and CI Disperse Red 343, thus forming liquid disperse dyes. The results show that both CI Disperse Blue 79 and CI Disperse Red 343 were well dissolved in choline chloride/ethylene glycol with excellent stability, and the dissolution behaviour was strongly associated with the dissolution temperature and time. Moreover, polyester fabrics can be dyed successfully with liquid disperse dyes, and it was observed that the K/S value and rubbing fastness were evidently improved at the same dyeing temperature with unchanged colour characteristics, and a higher K/S value could still be obtained by lowering the dyeing temperature. This work establishes a green dyeing process, which reduces dyeing costs and meets the demand for environmental protection. It is also expected to realise the liquid state of disperse dyes, which will help to promote the further development of textile dyeing.