Reactive dyes are a class of highly coloured organic substances, primarily used for tinting textiles, that attach themselves to their substrates by a chemical reaction that forms a covalent bond between the molecule of dye and that of the fibre. The dyestuff thus becomes a part of the fibre and is much less likely to be removed by washing than are dyestuffs that adhere by adsorption.
In a reactive dye a chromophore(an atom or group whose presence is responsible for the colour of a compound) contains a substituent that reacts with the substrate. Reactive dyes have good fastness properties owing to the bonding that occurs during dyeing. Reactive dyes are most commonly used in dyeing of cellulose like cotton or flax, but also wool is dyeable with reactive dyes. Reactive dyeing is the most important method for the coloration of cellulosic fibres. Reactive dyes can also be applied on wool and nylon; in the latter case they are applied under weakly acidic conditions. Reactive dyes have a low utilization degree compared to other types of dyestuff, since the functional group also bonds to water, creating hydrolysis.
Reactive dyes had been tested in the late 1800s involving both adding functionalized dyes to the substrate and then activating the substrate first followed by fixation of the dye. The first commercial success was described in the early 1950s
An alternative fixation process that is more dominant commercially is the vinylsulfonyl group. Like the chlorotriazines, this functional group adds to the hydroxyl groups of cellulose. The most popular version of this technology is Remazol. The dye is first attached to the ethylsulfonyl group. The most important characteristic of reactive dyes is the formation of covalent bonds with the substrate to be coloured, i.e. the dye forms a chemical bond with cellulose, which is the main component of cotton fibers.
Fiber reactive dyes are the most permanent of all dye types. Unlike other dyes, it actually forms a covalent bond with the cellulose or protein molecule. Once the bond is formed, what you have is one molecule, as the dye molecule has become an actual part of the cellulose fiber molecule. No wonder you can safely wash a garment that has been dyed in bright fiber reactive colours with white clothing, a hundred times, without endangering the whites in the least - even if it is all different bright colours, or even solid black! In contrast to all other dyes the reactive dyes bind chemically to the textile fibres, significantly improving the product's colour stability and washability. Thus reactive dying of cotton is currently the most widespread textile dying process in the world.
