Abstract
Six nano disperse dyes were prepared using corresponding O/W nanoemulsions which were obtained with sodium laurylsulphate and caprylic triglyceride. The average particle size of the dyes prepared were in the range of $110{\sim}130nm$. Exhaust dyeing using nano dyes resulted in low exhaustion yields of $17{\sim}26%$ on regular polyester fiber and $28{\sim}38%$ on ultramicrofiber polyester. The observed low exhaustion yields of nano disperse dye can be explained by the solubilization of dye particles into surfactant micelles as well as the high stability of the nanoemulsions, these might reduce the capacity of dye uptake onto the fibers. However, higher K/S values of dyeings with nano dyes on ultramicrofiber sites compared to those on regular polyester sites suggested their potential to be more efficient dyes for finer denier microfiber polyesters.