Investigation of Dyeing Behaviors of Bio-mordanted Wool Fabric Dyed with Natural Dye

Abstract In this research, green dyeing treatment of wool fabrics was examined with natural dye extracted from Beta vulgaris (beetroot) with an ultrasonic-assisted method. Wool fabric samples were treated with ascorbic acid, sodium carbonate, and tannic acid with different concentrations and durations via the ultrasonic-assisted method before dyeing treatment. The usability of ascorbic acid, sodium carbonate, and tannic acid was investigated as a bio-mordant agent in the natural dyeing process. After the pre-treatment with different substrates, the samples were colored with the natural dye obtained from beetroot for 5 min with the ultrasonic-assisted method. The dyeing parameters’ effects were investigated on the colorimetric and fastness properties. According to the results, Fourier transform infrared spectra indicate that there are no important dissimilarities in the functional groups of wool fabric samples with the pre-mordanting process. The experimental results show that ascorbic acid, sodium carbonate, and tannic acid are used as bio-mordants. Furthermore, the pre-mordanting process, mordant agent type, mordant concentration, and mordanting time had an effect on the fastness and colorimetric behaviors of the samples. Color strength results demonstrated that ascorbic acid mordant improved the color strength of the samples (K/S increased from 3.51 to 4.63), attributing darker shades (lower lightness, L) to the wool fabric. The light fastness of samples improved from 1 to 2 with the use of ascorbic acid for 15 min mordanting time. Furthermore, the best results for color change, washing, and rubbing fastness were obtained by using tannic acid as a mordant and increasing the mordanting time. In addition, the following dyeing characteristics of wool fabrics are estimated using an artificial neural network (ANN) model. In accordance with the experimental outcomes, the suggested approach obtains regression values of more than 0.97 for all dyeing characteristics. As can be shown, the suggested approach is accomplished and can be utilized effectively for predicting colorimetric properties of wool fabric. It has been concluded that the ultrasonic-assisted method is an environmentally sustainable dyeing process of textile fibers, and bio-mordants have rendered the dyeing treatment greener and more sustainable.