The plasticisation model of dye diffusion: Part 1 introduction

This paper introduces a novel plasticisation model of dye diffusion which recognises the fundamentally important mechanistic roles that macromolecule glass transition and water‐induced fibre/polymer plasticisation adopt in aqueous immersion dyeing processes. In essence, the model assumes that the temperature dependent diffusivity of all classes/types of dye molecule within the water‐saturated amorphous domains present in all types of common semi‐crystalline textile fibres/polymers, is governed by the thermally regulated relaxation times of the structural rearrangements occurring within the water‐saturated, water‐swollen, water‐plasticised fibre/polymer, as articulated in terms of the constructs of polymer chain segmental mobility and available free volume.