Efficient dyeing of silica fiber using metal-coordinated polymeric dye rotaxane

We prepared an azo dye rotaxane and its polymeric metal complex and successfully demonstrated their useful application for dyeing silica fiber, which exhibited high-color strength and fairly good color fastness. These benefits were made possible by the hydrogen bonding between SiO₂ and hydroxyl groups (OHs) on α-cyclodextrin (α-CD). Spectroscopic evidence supports the formation of polymeric metal-complexed rotaxanes within the silica fiber. The current results are meaningful because they indicate that the proper adjustment of the interaction between CD and SiO₂ can produce CD-encapsulated dyes that provide an effective platform for depositing various metal ions on silica surfaces, which will be useful in numerous promising applications. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013