Approach to Waterless Dyeing of Textile SubstratesUse of Atmospheric Plasma

The international textile wet processing industry produces large amounts of wastewater, which if discharged into the environment could have adverse effects on aquatic life and drinking water. Efforts to reduce wastewater production include the development of chemical finishing technology that employs atmospheric plasma to apply repellent finishes to textile fibers. With this in mind, the use of atmospheric plasma technology to apply dyes to textile fibers was examined in the present study, as no water is needed for the dyeing process. Our work involved the design and synthesis of suitable dyes for waterless technology and examination of their utility for dyeing cotton, nylon, and polyester (PET). Results indicated that the obtained azo dyes having one or two acrylate groups gave good bonding to and good technical properties on cotton, nylon, or PET following spray application and plasma treatment. Dyes that worked best were also nonmutagenic in the Ames test.