Dyeing Polypropylene Fibres by Means of Copolymer Additives

Ways of improving the dyeability of polypropylene (PP) fibres using copolymer additives have been investigated. The copolymers used consisted of stearyl methacrylate plus one of three additional components that conferred dye sites available for acid or basic dyes, or both. The synthesis and characterisation of these copolymers are described, together with the method used to incorporate them into PP fibre. Subsequent dyeing tests showed that the copolymer additives improve dyeability on PP. The mechanical properties of the fibre were not greatly affected by the copolymer additives