Synthesis and Application of Reactive Dyes Based on Azo-Anthraquinone Skeleton to Realize Clean Printing of Cotton Fabrics

Traditional reactive dyes generate a large amount of colored wastewater during printing owing to low reactivity, causing severe environmental problems. In this investigation, four novel reactive dyes were synthesized via incorporating azo structure into anthraquinone chromophore. They were characterized by UV-Vis, FT-IR, and 1H-NMR spectra. Their printing properties on cotton fabric were comprehensively studied. Attributed to multifunctional groups, the fixation of the novel reactive dyes can reach 98 % even at the dye concentration of 10 %. It increases by 30 % compared with traditional anthraquinone dyes. Moreover, the reactive dyes containing both mono-chlortriazine and bis(sulfatoethylsufone) groups can achieve urea-free printing. This research has a potential and significant application in the cleaner production of printing for cotton fabrics.