Preparation of cationic cotton through reaction with different polyelectrolytes

Cationization of cotton fabrics was performed by exhaustion procedure utilizing four different reagents provided with quaternary ammonium groups: poly diallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDDACl), poly acrylamide-co-diallyldimethylammonium chloride (PAcD), poly[bis(2-chloroethyl) ether-alt-1,3-bis[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]urea] quaternized (P42) and 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (CHPTAC). Pretreated samples were dyed using Reactive Red 195 dye. The cationic fabrics were analyzed by colorimetric and fastness properties, zeta potential, SEM, FTIR and an estimate of the bactericidal effect. Cationic cotton treated with PDDACl and CHPTAC showed a higher affinity for the reactive dye, with color strength (K/S) values varying from 41 to 48, against 32 for conventional dyeing. P42 presented competitive results with K/S of 27–28. The cationic dyeing considerably reduced the amount of effluent, especially for the CHPTAC samples, which requires a single washing bath for complete removal of unfixed dye. The PDDACl and P42 samples presented bactericidal activity. GRAPHIC ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10570-021-04260-4.