The effect of hyperbranched polymers on the dyeing of polypropylene fibres

The incorporation of hyperbranched polymer into polypropylene prior to fibre spinning markedly enhanced the dyeability of polypropylene with C.I. Disperse Blue 56; the disperse dye displayed much greater substantivity towards the modified polypropylene than its unmodified counterpart. The observed enhancement of dye uptake can be attributed to the introduction of polar groups provided by the stearate-modified hyperbranched polymer. The finding that dye uptake on the modified fibre reached a maximum at 110degreesC after reduction clearing suggests that "saturation" of the introduced polar groups had occurred. While the fastness of dyed fabrics made from polypropylene fibre which had been modified with 3% hyperbranched polymer, to five repeated wash fastness tests at 60 degreesC was very good, the fastness of the dyeings to light was poor. The incorporation of the hyperbranched polymer into the polypropylene prior had no effect on the physical properties of the fibre. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.