Reactive dyes represent one of the most favorable methods to add color to cellulosic fibers due to the resulting covalent bonding between fiber and dye. This particularity reduces the probability of color fading or leaching when exposing textiles to washing procedures. However, that same feature could generate a more difficult way to characterize the dye itself and potential degradation products that depend on the different mediums (water and soil under aerobic and anaerobic conditions).<br/>Based on the information regarding reactive dyes and their covalent bonding with the fabrics and their solubility features, an alkali treatment in combination with hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry methodology was developed for dye characterization. This methodology aimed to generate a reliable procedure to remove, separate, and identify reactive dyes obtained from fabrics exposed to environmental conditions based on their retention time, isotopic distribution, and tandem mass spectra.<br/>Three cotton fabrics (red, blue, yellow) were dyed with reactive dyes as control, two degraded dyed cotton fabrics with reactive dyes (red, blue), and one dyed cotton fabrics with a mixture of reactive dyes were evaluated (red, blue, black) using this alkali treatment and identification procedure to provide a reliable and sensible methodology to evaluate fabrics found in different environmental scenarios. Additionally, reactive dye powders were dissolved and evaluated under the same conditions to confirm the chemical nature of the extracted species.<br/>This chromatographic method in combination with a high sensitivity technique such as mass spectrometry can allow the study of environmental issues regarding dyeing and effects of the dyes on different matrices such as soil and water. This characterization could be useful for the identification of hydrolysis, degradation, and by-products from the interaction between fabrics and dyes under different environmental conditions.

Characterization of water-soluble reactive dyes from cellulosic fibers employing hydrophilic interaction chromatography and mass spectrometry for environmental purposes

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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