Use of rare earth salts with acid dyes for dyeing wool fabrics

Utilization of rare earth salts with acid dyes in wool fabrics dyeing has been investigated. The rare earth salts used include neodymium chloride, samarium oxide and gadolinium oxide, while the acid dyes used were C.I. Acid Red 114, C.I. Acid Yellow 42 and C.I. Acid Blue 113. The experiments show that addition of rare earth salts slightly lowers the dyeing temperature of wool, while addition of neodymium chloride gave better results. The result of mixing different rare earth salts is not very distinct, although an 8:2 mixture of neodymium chloride and gadolinium oxide gave the best effect. Moreover, the addition of rare earth salts has no considerable impact on the tenacity of the dyed fabrics. Among the dyed fabrics selected for the study, Red 114 evidenced a higher color strength. Furthermore, fabrics washing fastness can be, generally, up to grade 4-5, while their dry rubbing fastness may reach up to 4-5, and its wet rubbing fastness - up to grade 3-4.