Coloration of PLA/modified montmorillonite nanocomposite fibres with acid and basic dyes

Abstract

The dyeable poly (lactic acid) (PLA) has been prepared based on the fundamental of nanotechnology. PLA is melt-mixedwith montmorillonite (MMT) and quaternary ammonium compound using twin-screw extruder to achieve PLA/modified MMTnanocomposite. The nanocomposite fibre is then prepared using single-screw extruder for further investigations includingdyeability, structural analysis, and thermal properties. The results show that the nanocomposite fibre is dyeable with both aciddyes (anionic dyes) and basic dyes (cationic dyes) due to the presence of dye sites, quaternary ammonium cation and anioniccharge of MMT particles respectively. The color strength is found to be dependent on the amounts of quaternary ammoniumcompound as well as MMT applied. The fastness properties such as wash fastness and light fastness show similar trend as foundin the traditional fibres. It is observed that the thermal stability of the nanocomposite fibre is lower than that of neat PLA fibre.This study demonstrates that PLA can exhibit the dyeability in the form of nanocomposite.