Eucalyptus bark as a novel source for dyeing silk fabric

Abstract

The effectiveness of Eucalyptus bark dye on silk fabric treated with nine different mordants and without mordant was studied. Nine types of mordants viz., alum, vinegar, myrobalan, betel leaves, Copper sulphate (CuSO4), CuSO4+alum, CuSO4+vinegar, CuSO4+myrobalan, and CuSO4+betel leaves were used, each at one per cent of weight of fabric (o.w.f) and with the material to liquor ratio (MLR) of 1:40. The variations in the colour strength and coordinates with respect to dyed without and with mordant showed a significance difference in colour obtained. The results of colour fastness analysis of dyed fabrics exhibited 4 grey scale rating for washing (T1, T2, T3, T4 and T10) fabrics; dry (4-5) and wet (4) rubbing for T1 to T10 fabrics; light (5) for T1 to T9 fabrics, (4-5) for T10 fabric and perspiration 4 (under acidic and alkaline conditions) for T1 to T10 fabrics. The K/S values at 400nm, ten dyed samples were ranged from 15.11 to 26.15, whereas the CIE Lab values were ranged from 55.15 to 66.89, 4.79 to 12.23, and 17.28 to 25.24 for L*, a* and b* respectively. This suggests that Eucalyptus bark dye is a novel source for dyeing the silk fabric and manufacturing of eco-textiles.