Adsorption and fixation behaviour of CI Reactive Red 195 on cotton woven fabric in a nonionic surfactant Triton X‐100 reverse micelle

To achieve the goals of saving water and being salt‐free in the coloration of cotton fabric with reactive dye, nonionic reverse micelles were prepared and optimised with a surfactant, Triton X‐100, n‐octanol and isooctane by injecting a small amount of CI Reactive Red 195 aqueous solution. The adsorption, diffusion and fixation of this dye on cotton fabric in Triton X‐100 reverse micelle and bulk water were then investigated. The equilibrium and kinetic data of the dye adsorption process were evaluated. The colour strength and fixation rate of cotton fabrics dyed in the micelle and in bulk water were also examined and compared. The results indicated that the amount of dye adsorbed increased with the increasing temperature and the initial dye concentration. The dye adsorption process could be described using the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo‐second‐order kinetic equations. It was found that CI Reactive Red 195 showed a stronger adsorption property on cotton fabric in Triton X‐100 reverse micelle than in bulk water without the addition of sodium chloride. Using Triton X‐100 reverse micelle as the dyeing medium offered the reactive dye better diffusion performance within the cotton fibre as compared with bulk water. Moreover, higher fixation of the dyes absorbed on the cotton fibre was achieved when the optimum concentration of sodium carbonate was used as the alkali agent in Triton X‐100 reverse micelle.