Textile materials containing dyed polyphenylene sulfide fibers and methods for producing the same

Abstract

A textile material comprises a plurality of yarns, the yarns containing an intimate blend of dyed polyphenylene sulfide fibers and cellulosic fibers. The dyed polyphenylene sulfide fibers comprising a disperse dye that is distributed substantially evenly across the cross-sectional area of the fibers. A method for dyeing textile materials containing polyphenylene sulfide fibers comprises the steps of (a) providing a textile material comprising yarns which contain an intimate blend of polyphenylene sulfide fibers and cellulosic fibers, (b) providing a dye liquor comprising a liquid medium and a disperse dye, (c) applying the dye liquor to the textile material, (d) heating the textile material under ambient atmosphere to a temperature sufficient to evaporate substantially all of the liquid medium from the textile material, and (e) heating the textile material under ambient atmosphere to a temperature of about 180° C. or more to fix the disperse dye to the polyphenylene sulfide fibers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A textile material comprising a plurality of yarns, wherein the yarns comprise an intimate blend of dyed polyphenylene sulfide fibers and cellulosic fibers, wherein the polyphenylene sulfide fibers have a cross-sectional area, the polyphenylene sulfide fibers comprise a disperse dye that is distributed substantially evenly across the cross-sectional area of the fibers, and the disperse dye is selected from the group consisting of disperse dyes having a molar mass of about 350 g/mol or more, disperse dyes comprising a nitro group, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         2 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the cellulosic fibers comprise cotton fibers. 
     
     
         3 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the textile material further comprises a flame retardant, wherein the flame retardant is a phosphorus-based flame retardant. 
     
     
         4 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the yarns are formed by the process of spinning. 
     
     
         5 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the textile material is a woven textile material. 
     
     
         6 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the polyphenylene sulfide fibers comprise a polyphenylene sulfide polymer, and the polyphenylene sulfide polymer has a molar mass of about 20,000 g/mol or more. 
     
     
         7 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the disperse dye is selected from the group consisting of azo dyes, diazo dyes, anthraquinone dyes, nitro dyes, quinoline dyes, dibenzofuran dyes, naphthalimide dyes, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the yarns are formed by ring spinning. 
     
     
         9 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the yarns are formed by open end spinning. 
     
     
         10 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the yarns comprise at least about 40% by weight of polyphenylene sulfide fibers. 
     
     
         11 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the textile material comprises between about 20 and 80% by weight polyphenylene sulfide fibers and between about 80 and 20% by weight cellulosic fibers. 
     
     
         12 . A method for dyeing textile materials containing polyphenylene sulfide fibers, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing a plurality of polyphenylene sulfide fibers and cellulosic fibers;   (b) forming the polyphenylene sulfide fibers and cellulosic fibers into a plurality of yarns comprising intimately blended polyphenylene sulfide fibers and cellulosic fibers;   (c) forming the plurality of yarns into a textile material;   (d) providing a dye liquor comprising a liquid medium and a disperse dye selected from the group consisting of disperse dyes having a molar mass of about 350 g/mol or more, disperse dyes comprising a nitro group, and mixtures thereof;   (e) applying the dye liquor to the textile material;   (f) heating the textile material under ambient atmosphere to a temperature sufficient to evaporate substantially all of the liquid medium from the textile material;   (g) heating the textile material under ambient atmosphere to a temperature of about 180° C. or more to fix the disperse dye to the polyphenylene sulfide fibers; and;   (h) optionally treating the textile material with a flame retardant.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the dye liquor further comprises a volatile organic acid having a boiling point of about 100° C. to about 170° C. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the method further comprises the step of treating the textile material from step (e) with a caustic solution to remove or neutralize unfixed disperse dye on the textile material. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the cellulosic fibers comprise cotton fibers. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the flame retardant is a phosphorus-based flame retardant. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the textile material is a woven textile material or a knit textile material. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the yarns are formed by ring spinning. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the yarns are formed by open end spinning. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the yarns comprise at least about 40% by weight of polyphenylene sulfide fibers. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the textile material comprises between about 20 and 80% by weight polyphenylene sulfide fibers and between about 80 and 20% by weight cellulosic fibers.