Dyeing of nylon 66 with a disperse-reactive dye using supercritical carbon dioxide as the transport medium

Nylon 66 fabric was dyed with a disperse-reactive yellow dyestuff which was synthesised in our laboratory, using a supercritical carbon dioxide dyeing process. The structure of the disperse-reactive yellow dyestuff and its covalent bond with nylon 66 fibres were confirmed by FTIR, NMR, EA and MS analysis. The nylon fabric was also dyed with CI Disperse Yellow 3 and the dyeing results compared. Colour yield values were measured for both dyed fabrics, with those of the disperse-reactive dye showing much better values than CI Disperse Yellow 3. Wash fastness of the fabric dyed with the disperse-reactive yellow dye was tested by the ISO 2 method and showed excellent results. Light fastness was tested by the ISO 105 B05 method and the results were satisfactory. The results obtained indicate fabric immersed in supercritical carbon dioxide does not undergo any fibre damage.