Dyeability of photooxidized meta-aramid fabrics to cationic dyes

Aramid fabrics were photooxidized by UV/$O_3$ irradiation. The UV irradiation caused the oxygen content of the aramid fabric surface to increase and reduced the surface zeta potential, coupled with improved water wettability. The modified aramid fabrics showed higher affinity to cationic dyes which may be resultd from the newly introduced electrostatic interaction between cationic dyes and anionic dyeing sites on the photooxidized surface layers. Although color fastness to both staining and rubbing were good to excellent, color fastness to shade change was moderate.