For a set of 10 pH-sensitive sulfonphthaleine dyes, two distinct dyeing methods onto polyamide 6 are compared.
For the conventional dyeing process, halogen substituents are necessary to obtain a halochromic fabric.
Dye leaching out of the fabric was shown to be mainly diffusion driven.
For the dye-doped nanofibres, the acidic electrospin solution caused high dye leaching.
A complexing agent was required to develop fast-responsive nanofibrous pH-sensors.