Fixation of Reactive Dyes Using Radio-frequency Energy

Radio-frequency (r.f.) energy has been used to increase the fixation rate of reactive dyes on cotton fabric in pad-batch dyeing. A parallel-plate r.f. applicator was used to heat batches of fabric containing reactive dye formulations. The time required for fixation of the dyes was reduced from several hours to a minutes by heating the fabric in the radio-frequency field. Reactive dyes incorporating three different reactive groups, vinylsulphone, nicotinic acid, and mixed vinylsulphone/monochlorotriazine were studied and found to be applicable using the hot pad-batch method