Textile materials containing aramid fibers and dyed polyphenylene sulfide fibers

Abstract

A textile material comprises a plurality of yarns, the yarns containing an intimate blend of dyed polyphenylene sulfide fibers and aramid fibers. The dyed polyphenylene sulfide fibers comprising a disperse dye that is distributed substantially evenly across the cross-sectional area of the fibers. A method for dyeing textile materials containing polyphenylene sulfide fibers comprises the steps of (a) providing a plurality of polyphenylene sulfide fibers and aramid fibers; (b) spinning the blend of fibers into a plurality of yarns; (c) forming the yarns into a textile material; (d) subjecting the textile material to a polyphenylene sulfide dyeing process.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A textile material comprising a plurality of yarns, wherein at least a portion of the yarns comprise an intimate blend of dyed polyphenylene sulfide fibers and aramid fibers, wherein the polyphenylene sulfide fibers have a cross-sectional area, the polyphenylene sulfide fibers comprise a disperse dye that is distributed substantially evenly across the cross-sectional area of the fibers, and the disperse dye is selected from the group consisting of disperse dyes having a molar mass of about 350 g/mol or more, disperse dyes comprising a nitro group, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         2 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the aramid fibers comprise meta-aramid. 
     
     
         3 . The textile material of  claim 2 , wherein the yarns further comprise para-aramid fibers. 
     
     
         3 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the textile material is a woven or knit textile material. 
     
     
         4 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the polyphenylene sulfide fibers comprise a polyphenylene sulfide polymer, and the polyphenylene sulfide polymer has a molar mass of about 20,000 g/mol or more. 
     
     
         5 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the polyphenylene sulfide fibers comprise a polyphenylene sulfide polymer, and the percent crystallinity of the polyphenylene sulfide polymer is from 10% to about 80%. 
     
     
         6 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the disperse dye is selected from the group consisting of azo dyes, diazo dyes, anthraquinone dyes, nitro dyes, quinoline dyes, dibenzofuran dyes, naphthalimide dyes, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the yarns further comprise rayon fibers. 
     
     
         8 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the yarns are formed by the process of spinning, wherein the process of spinning is selected from the group consisting of open-end, ring, jet, rotor-spun, and Siro-spun spinning. 
     
     
         9 . The textile material of  claim 1 , wherein the yarns comprise between about 20 and 80% by weight polyphenylene sulfide fibers and between about 20 and 80% by weight aramid fibers. 
     
     
         10 . A garment comprising the textile material of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         11 . A method for dyeing textile materials containing polyphenylene sulfide fibers, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing a plurality of polyphenylene sulfide fibers and aramid fibers;   (b) spinning the blend of fibers into a plurality of yarns;   (c) forming the yarns into a textile material;   (d) subjecting the textile material to a polyphenylene sulfide dyeing process comprising:
 (i) providing a dye liquor comprising a liquid medium and a disperse dye selected from the group consisting of disperse dyes having a molar mass of about 350 g/mol or more, disperse dyes comprising a nitro group, and mixtures thereof; 
 (ii) applying the dye liquor to the textile material; 
 (iii) heating the textile material under ambient atmosphere to a temperature sufficient to evaporate substantially all of the liquid medium from the textile material; and 
 (iv) heating the textile material under ambient atmosphere to a temperature of about 180° C. or more to fix the disperse dye to the polyphenylene sulfide fibers; 
   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the aramid fibers comprise meta-aramid. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the yarns further comprise para-aramid fibers. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising forming the textile material into a garment. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the aramid fibers are solution dyed prior to being formed into a textile material. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the aramid fibers are solution dyed after being formed into a textile material. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises the step of treating the textile material from step (e) with a caustic solution to remove or neutralize unfixed disperse dye on the textile material. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the textile material is a woven textile material or a knit textile material. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the yarns further comprise rayon fibers. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the yarns are formed by the process of spinning selected from the group consisting of open-end, ring, jet, rotor-spun, and Siro-spun spinning. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the yarns comprise between about 20 and 80% by weight polyphenylene sulfide fibers and between about 20 and 80% by weight aramid fibers. 
     
     
         22 . A textile material comprising a plurality of yarns, wherein at least a portion of the yarns comprise an intimate blend of dyed polyphenylene sulfide fibers and polyamide-imide fibers, wherein the polyphenylene sulfide fibers have a cross-sectional area, the polyphenylene sulfide fibers comprise a disperse dye that is distributed substantially evenly across the cross-sectional area of the fibers, and the disperse dye is selected from the group consisting of disperse dyes having a molar mass of about 350 g/mol or more, disperse dyes comprising a nitro group, and mixtures thereof.