Name: Susan Fischer
Message: can acid dyes be used to dye cotton?
thank you and best regards

No, unfortunately not. Cellulose (which is what all plant fibers are composed of) is a very simple molecule, with only one possible binding site. Wool and other proteins are very complex molecules with many different possible binding sites. It is much easier to find a chemical that will bond to wool than cotton. As a general rule, acid dyes will stain cotton only temporarily.

Cotton can be dyed with direct dye (which is found, mixed with acid dye, in all-purpose dyes), or, for better results, with fiber reactive dye. Fiber reactive dyes have the advantage of not requiring the fabric to be boiled with the dye.

Fiber reactive dyes have two parts, the colored section and the reactive section. The colored part of the dye molecule is the same as in acid dyes. An acid dye without the reactive section cannot bond to cellulose.