Employment of Imidazolium and Ammonium-Based Ionic Liquids to Enhance the Dyeability of Cotton Fibers with Reactive Dyestuff

In this study, the effect of ionic liquids on the dyeing of cotton fabrics with reactive dyestuffs was investigated. For this purpose, 100% cotton fabrics were treated with imidazolium (1-ethyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium ethyl sulfate- E) and ammonium (methyl-tri-n-butylammonium methyl sulfate- B) based ionic liquids with three different concentrations. To assess the effect of the treatments, the cotton fabrics were characterized by FT-IR, SEM and DSC. After this treatment, the cotton fibers were dyed with 1.0% o.w.f reactive dye. The K/S values were determined to evaluate the effect of ionic liquids on the dyeability of cotton fabrics and fastness analyses to washing, water and rubbing were conducted to examine the end-use properties of dyed fabrics. The results revealed that ionic liquids settled on the fabric surface and after each ionic liquid modification, the increasing intensity was observed with increasing ionic liquid concentrations at broad bands according to the FT-IR analysis. It was determined that the K/S value of the modified cotton fabric increased with increment in the concentration of ionic liquid E, especially. Considering the overall results, it is possible to state that ionic liquids which are implemented in this study are efficient in enhancing the dyeability of the cotton fabrics.