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The efficiency of reaction between reactive fluorescent whitening agents and wool
Author(s) -
Davidson R Stephen,
Ismail Gulam M,
Lewis David M
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of the society of dyers and colourists
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.297
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1478-4408
pISSN - 0037-9859
DOI - 10.1111/j.1478-4408.1988.tb01149.x
Subject(s) - wool , fluorescence , chemistry , halogen , bromine , nucleophile , covalent bond , photochemistry , yield (engineering) , sodium carbonate , sodium , organic chemistry , materials science , composite material , alkyl , physics , quantum mechanics , catalysis
Potential fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) containing halogen atoms which intramolecularly quench fluorescence have been synthesised and applied to wool in a number of ways. Application by cold pad‐batch methods revealed that the complete displacement of all halogen atoms by nucleophilic groups in wool did not take place. Treatment of these materials with morpholine, sodium carbonate or water was necessary to develop the full potential fluorescence yield of the FWA on the fabric. The fluorescence of FWAs can be quenched by the heavy atom effect, as shown by the fact that no fluorescence was observed when commercial FWAs were applied to brominated wool. If the FWA‐treated brominated fabrics were subjected to a reduction treatment then the bromine atoms were removed and the fluorescence of the FWA was restored. Application of the potential FWAs by exhaustion, with thioureadioxide present in the liquor, at high temperatures always led to strongly fluorescent fabrics, implying that the halogen atoms were completely displaced using this application method, but the question remains as to how much of the displacement leads to covalent bonds between the fabric and the FWA.