Influence of different acids for adjusting the dyebath ph value on the dyeability of polyester knitwear dyed with disperse yellow 23

In this paper the influence of the formic and oxalic acids, as substances for dyebath pH adjusting, on the dyeability of polyester fabric dyed with disperse dye Disperse Yellow 23 was examined. The polyester undyed knitwear samples were dyed in baths containing the acids under the same dyeing conditions. Color differences of the samples were assessed using the reflectiometry technique and expressed in terms of CIELcoordinates. The influence of the tested acids on the surface structure of dyed polyester fibers was examined using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the differences in obtained dyeabilities, in the presence of both formic and oxalic acid, are acceptable according to both M&S 83A and CMC (2:1) standards which was not the case with acetic acid. Therefore, acetic acid can be replaced with either formic or oxalic acid as substances for dyebath pH adjusting in the dyeing process described in this paper. SEM micrographs showed small differences in the surface structure of dyed fibers, as well as differences in the shape of undyed samples’ reflectance curves in presence of the acids. Since all of the color differences were quite small, it can be concluded that the influence of formic and oxalic acids on the polyester knitwear dyeability is not significantly different than that of acetic acid