A green approach for dyeing cotton fabrics using synthesized reactive disperse dyes and their mixtures under supercritical CO2 medium

Dyeing natural fabrics using supercritical carbon dioxide is challenging, especially without essential color hues. This work demonstrated that two newly developed reactive disperse dyes with distinct colors and shades were generated, one of which featured from the anthraquinone family and the other yellow, containing a pyrazole moiety. These new dyes and their combinations were used to dye cotton fabric using supercritical carbon dioxide and the highest K/S values were achieved at 8.73 for the mixture of (blue dye: yellow dye 80:20), however the lowest K/S was observed at 7.71 for (blue dye: yellow dye 20:80). The new dyes' chemical compositions were identified using elemental and spectroscopic analyses. The effectiveness of these dyes and their mixtures for cotton dyeing was discussed. The dyed samples were tested for color fastness, and the results indicated that they had excellent color retention and were highly durable in washing. The increasing patterns in both dyeing rate and build-up curves show good compatibility. Furthermore, desirable shades of green can be achieved by mixing blue and yellow dyes at various ratios in supercritical CO₂. The compatibility test involves calculating color difference index values for dyed cotton fabrics by utilizing various ratios of a binary mixture of dyes. Furthermore, the dyes under study and dyed samples displayed superior antibacterial properties against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria compared to certain antibiotics used as a control. These results aligned with the quality and eco-friendly standards required by the industry without the use of water.