Abstract

The effects of chemical treatments on the structure, some tensile properties and dyeing of polyethylene terephthalate fiber have been studied. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers were isothermally treated at room temperature with trichloroethylene (TCE) for 30, 60, 300, 600, 900 and 1800 s respectively. The treatment was found to influence the morphology and properties of the polymer to an extent which depends not only on the time of treatment but also on the nature of the liquid and the forces of interaction in the PET: liquid pair being considered. The XRD and tensile properties are used to complement the dyeing results. The dyeing of treated and untreated polyester fibers in trichloroethylene at 40ºC and 60ºC compared to aqueous dyeing at 80ºC was carried out. An improvement in the dye uptake observed in the solvent dyeing compared to the aqueous one was found to be temperature dependent. The low energy required for non-aqueous dyeing is an indication of it usage as a better option to the normal aqueous dyeing that requires high energy consumption.

Keywords: PET, dyeing, TCE, temperature, improvement, dyeuptake