A Combinatorial Method for Developing Deep Dye Polyesters

In situ generation of copolyesters of PET, followed by test tube screening with a textile dyestuff under mild conditions, produces a rank ordering of dye uptakes mimicking that obtained with independently produced copolymers and with (in some cases) textile dyeing of polyester fibers. From these results, we find that PEG is a generally superior diol polyester modifier, that adipate is superior to the lower molecular weight succinate and the higher molecular weight dodecanedioate, and that adipate-PEG combinations are highly effective at improving PET dyeability. The strategy of incorporating diacid modifiers into the polyester during melt polymerization, then incorporating diol modifiers by means of alcoholysis, appears to be an effective means of generating a large library of modified polymers in a relatively short period of time.