Facile one-pot modification of cotton fiber with commercial cationic surfactant for salt-free dyeing with reactive dyes

The current study investigates the chemical modification of cotton fiber using a commercially available cationic agent (Albafix Eco®) through a simple method to enhance the anionic (reactive) dye exhaustion without the need for auxiliaries. In this study, 100% cotton knit fabric was treated with various concentrations of Albafix Eco®, ranging from 0.1% to 1%. Subsequently, the modified cotton fabrics were dyed with three reactive dyes: Novacron Navy EC-R, Novacron Ruby S-3R, and Novacron Yellow S-3B, without electrolytes. The FT-IR studies and zeta potential analysis confirmed the successful incorporation of cationic agents into the cellulose outer surface. The key indication was the abrupt increase of surface zeta potential from − 13.3 (pristine cotton fiber) to 17.3 (modified cotton fiber) with uniform coverage of the fiber surface. The highest dye exhaustion (more than 95%) was achieved with fibers modified using a 0.5% Albafix Eco concentration. The highest dye uptake was observed for the modified fabrics when the dyeing bath conditions were neutral pH (pH 7), temperature 60℃, and run for 60 min (i.e., Novacron Ruby 90%, Novacron Navy 93%, and Novacron Yellow 98%). The overall colorfastness of the dyed fabric was good to excellent. This study could be an example of a cost-effective way of dyeing cotton with reactive dye that has minimal negative impact on the environment and the highest dyestuff utilization.