Dyeing of Polyvinyl Alcohol Fibers in Filament Yarn Form with Reactive and Vat Dyes

As polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) filament yarn is commercially used in many fields due to its high strength and modulus properties. This research was carried out to study the dyeing behavior of PVA and to find out appropriate dye for better dyeing. As the dyeing behavior of PVA fiber is similar to cellulose due to the same functional group, reactive and vat dyes were selected for the dyeing. Color strength of PVA fibers treated with vat dyes was found to be better than those with reactive dyes, because of the low fixation of reactive dye on fibers. Most of the reactive dye may became hydrolyzed, and flushed away with water in washing. Colorfastness to laundering was shown to be very high for both of the reactive-dyed and vat-dyed PVA fibers.