Preparation of UV-cured pigment/latex dispersion for textile inkjet printing

UV-cured pigment/latex dispersions were prepared via miniemulsion polymerization, and further applied to formulate UV-cured pigment/latex inks for textile inkjet printing. FTIR, TEM and TGA results proved that the pigment was embedded into the latex. The increase in colorfastness of printed fabric indicated that the encapsulation layer of UV-cured pigment/latex could be enhanced by increasing the amount of styrene in polymerization. In addition, the prepared UV-cured pigment/latex inks were found to have excellent stability and jettability, and the printed cotton fabric showed high colorfastness and softness after UV irradiation. SEM images illustrated that the UV-cured pigment/latex inks formed a separate film on cotton fabric which was unlike the commercial pigment ink forming a continuous film. This research combined the strengths of both UV-cured technology and miniemulsion polymerization.