Reactive Dyes - Fiber Reactive Organic Substances For Textile Applications | Strong Chemical Bonding, Suitable For Cellulose, Wool, And Nylon

Reactive dyes are a class of highly coloured organic substances, primarily used for tinting textiles, that attach themselves to their substrates by a chemical reaction that forms a covalent bond between the molecule of dye and that of the fibre. The dyestuff thus becomes a part of the fibre and is much less likely to be removed by washing than are dyestuffs that adhere by adsorption. The first fibre reactive dyes were designed for cellulose fibres, and they are still used mostly in this way. There are also commercially available fibre reactive dyes for protein and polyamide fibres. In theory, fibre reactive dyes have been developed for other fibres, but these are not yet practical commercially. The dyes contain a reactive group that, when applied to a fibre in a weakly alkaline dyebath, form a chemical bond with the fibre. Reactive dyes can also be used to dye wool and nylon, in the latter case they are applied under weakly acidic conditions.