A New Approach to the Study of Textile Dyeing Properties with Liquid Chromatography: Part I: Direct Dye Adsorption on Cotton Using a Rolled Fabric Stationary Phase

Direct dye adsorption isotherms have been obtained using a rolled cotton fabric stationary phase in a liquid chromatography column. Both frontal analysis and minor disturbance methods were tested. The minor disturbance method was not useful due to the slow rate of dye equilibration relative to the velocity of the pulse of dye passed through the fabric column. In comparison, the frontal analysis technique gave results similar to those obtained with standard equilibrium adsorption measurements in a beaker. This method permits determination of whole fabric dye sorption using liquid chromatography instrumentation in a manner that yields facile and quantitative measures of dye compatibility, as described in Part II of this paper.