To investigate the mechanism of dyeing of Vinylon with basic dyes, the absorption isotherms of C. I. Basic Blue 9, C. I. Basic Violet 3, C. I. Basic Bed 2, C. I. Basic Blue 26, C. I. Basic Violet 10 and C. I. Basic Orange 2 in presence or in absence of salt were determined at 80°C.
The isotherms obtained were represented approximately by the following equation which was a linear combination of two functions.
It is considered that in the equation (1), the term K[D]s[S]/1+K[D]s correponds to the dyeing mechanism which takes place by adsorption of dye cations by carboxyl anions in Vinylon, and that the term K′[D]s corresponds to the dyeing mechanism which takes place by solution of dye into the fibre.
By the use of the equation (1), the saturation value, the number of carboxyl groups in Vinylon, can be calculated from the isotherms. The values calculated were ca. 8m. mol/kg fibre. ([D]F and [D]s are the concentration of dye in the fibre and in solution, [S] the saturation value, K, K′ constant).