Improving the dyeability of poly(lactic acid) fiber using organoclay during melt spinning

The dyeability of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) fiber was tried to be improved with the addition of organoclay during melt spinning process. The tensile, thermal and morphological properties of the fiber samples were characterized by tensile testing, differential scanning calorimeter, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The effects of disperse dye type, dye bath and organoclay concentrations on the dyeability and wash fastness properties of the fiber samples were investigated. It was found that the addition of organoclay reduced the percent crystallinity (X (c)) as the amount increased. The tensile strength (sigma) of pure PLA fiber increased with the addition of 1 wt% organoclay. However, the further addition of organoclay (3 wt%) reduced the sigma of PLA fiber. The organoclay containing PLA fibers were dyed to deeper depth as the amount of organoclay increased for both disperse dyes. It was observed that the addition of organoclay did not affect the wash fastness properties of pure PLA fiber.