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Abstract:
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Mercerization of cotton fabric has proven to be a significant development in the textile
industry. As the concern of the industry focuses on cost and quality, ways to improve this
process are constantly sought. When compared to unmercerized fabrics, mercerized cotton
fabrics have better dye affinity and uniformity while requiring less dyestuff to achieve the
desired shade. A variety of dyestuffs can be used to dye cellulosic fabrics. The vat dyes,
one of the more popular class of dyes, playa significant role in cellulosic dyeing. The
popularity of these dyestuffs is attributed to their exceptional fastness properties, especially
light and wet fastness. Furthermore, they possess minimal shade change after laundering.
This study was designed to examine the effects of vat dyestuff chemical structure on
apparent dye depth, and to compare Dimensa and conventional mercerizing.
Results of this study found that vat dye structure had no significant effect on apparent
dye depth under the conditions tested. Furthermore, conventional mercerization was
comparable to that of Dimensa mercerization.
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