Dyeability of raw and modified diatomite containing polypropylene nonwoven fabrics

In this study, nonwoven fabrics were generated by adding diatomite into polypropylene using meltblowing technique and the morphological, thermal and dyeability properties of these nonwoven fabrics were investigated. In order to increase the dyeability of polypropylene, diatomite mineral, being an amorphous silica, was added into polypropylene in the melt stage. Diatomite was coated with fluorocarbon to improve compatibility between polypropylene and diatomite. Pursuing the same goal, maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene was used as a compatibilizer. The nonwovens generated were dyed at two different concentrations (0,5% and 1,5%) and at three different temperatures (110ºC, 120ºC and 130ºC) using two different dispersion dyestuffs (Setapers Red P2G and Setapers Blue TFBL-NEW). Under each dyeing condition, the non-diatomite polypropylene nonwoven sample was taken as the reference. CIELAB (L*, a*, b*, C*) and K/S values of the samples were determined and the colour properties and colour yields were evaluated. Especially, the dyeability of polypropylene nonwovens generated using ground and uncoated diatomite has significantly been improved. The optimum dyeing temperature was determined to be 120oC. © 2021