Effect of hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) values of PEG-based non-ionic surfactant on reverse micellar dyeing of cotton fibre with reactive dyes in Non-aqueous Medium

The effect of hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of polyethylene glycol-based non-ionic surfactants of polyoxyethylene stearyl ether and polyoxyethylene tridecyl ether series of seven types on reverse micellar dyeing system of cotton was studied in non-aqueous heptane solvent medium. The relationships between HLB values of surfactants and reflectance, K/S _sum value and levelness of the dyed samples were investigated. The experimental results reveal that reflectance percentage increases and K/S _sum value decreases with increase of HLB value while good levelness and visual appearance of dyed samples can be achieved only with optimum HLB value. The most suitable HLB value for reverse micelle dyeing of cotton ranges from 12 to 14 since there is stable formation of reverse micelle under this range. Fastness to washing of dyed cotton samples was also evaluated. The results show that samples dyed by both non-ionic surfactant series can achieve excellent washing fastness supporting reproducibility of K/S _sum value, reflectance percentage and levelness of reverse micelle dyed samples with various surfactants.