The roles of polymer relaxation phenomena,aqueous dye solubility and the physical properties of water in the mechanism of adsorption of a disperse dye on poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibres: Part 4 further aspects related to polymer relaxation phenomena

To further investigate the contribution of polymer relaxation times to the mechanism of disperse dye adsorption on poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibres, the temperature-dependent uptake of Teratop Yellow HL-G 150% on both cotton and polyamide 66 fabrics at temperatures between 30 and 130°C was compared with that on poly(ethylene terephthalate) fabric. Although uptake of the commercial grade dye on polyester fabric is governed by the thermally regulated, broad glass transition of the water-saturated poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate, as this was not observed for either cotton or nylon 66 fabrics, the respective cellulose or polyamide 66 polymer glass transition does not present a major thermal impediment to dye uptake over the wide range of dyeing temperatures used. This is because the onset and end-set temperatures of the glass transition of the water-plasticised poly(ethylene terephthalate) material reside within the range of dyeing temperatures employed, whereas those of the water-plasticised cotton and polyamide materials occur below the lowest dyeing temperature examined (30°C). The thermal dependency of disperse dye solubility also likely makes a meaningful contribution to the temperature-dependent dye uptake observed for each type of fibre.