Country: Pakistan

Message: Why are acidic dyes called acidic dyes, and basic dyes called basic dyes?


In English, the phrase is "acid" dyes, rather than "acidic" dyes. These dyes are named for the usually mild acid that is used as an assistant in dyeing protein fibers with the acid dyes. Like several other classes of dyes, such as reactive dyes and direct dyes, acid dyes are negatively charged. See "About Acid Dyes".

Basic dyes are also known as cationic dyes. They are named for their unusual ionic charge, which is positive. No other class of dyes contains dyes with a positive charge. The lightfastness of basic dyes on natural fibers is extremely poor, but they are highly useful for dyeing acrylic fibers, producing deeper shades than disperse dyes on acrylic. See "Dyeing Acrylic with Basic Dye".

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