Ionizable Groups in Fibers and Their Role in Dyeing. An Examination of the Sorption of Anionic Dyes by Cellulosic Fibers and Films

The development of a simple but general approach to equilibrium dyeing has stimulated a re-examination of existing data on the sorption of anionic dyes by, cellulosic fibeis. New data are also analyzed. The volume term V of the conventional theories has been replaced by the concept of an average practical ionic dis tribution coethcient ( K 1 ) P for the inorganic ions in the system. ( K 1 ) P can be measured independently of the dye sorp tion data. The conventional theories ignore the acidic groups in cellulosic fibers and appear to use incorrect values for V. For these reasons the conventional theories appear to be seriously in error. A direct experimental test of these conclusions is proposed.