A Review on Reactive Dyes

Since 1956, the reactive dyes due to having covalent bonds with the fibre and possessing excellent fastness properties, have a wide textile industrial application. During this period, most of the investigations are focused on synthesis of reactive dyes with novel reactive groups which firstly, have sufficient reactivity to covalent bonding with the fibre and secondly, have not that high reactivity to hydrolyze the reactive dyes during the dyeing process. Since, hydrolyzed dye during the dyeing process in the house effluent causing environmental issues. Therefore, in order to balance the amount of reactive dyes reactivity to covalent bonding with fibre instead water, the structural modifications of reactive dye including change in the type of reactive groups (triazine, diazine, dichloroquinoxaline, phosphonic acid and sulphatoethylsulphone), the number of reactive groups (monofunctional and bifunctional) and the type of bridging groups which make the linkage between chromogen and reactive group, have been applied. Monochlrotriazine and vinylsulphone are most important reactive groups in reactive dyes and also commercial bi-functional and tri-functional reactive dyes with good dyeing properties have introduced to the textile industry. A comprehensive literature review on development of commercial and synthesis reactive dyes has been provided in this paper. This article concentrated on developments of reactive groups’ type. The evaluation of studied patents and papers prove that there is still room for progress in this type of dyes .