Dyeing Silk with Tea Polyphenol
Tea polyphenol (TP) was used to dye silk by the post-mordanting method using three different metal salts as the mordant; ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate and potassium aluminum sulfate. The results were analyzed in terms of color strength (K/S value) and fastness characteristics as well as the influence of variables such as dyeing time, temperature and pH on the color depth of the dyed sample. A weak acid medium and a low dyeing temperature were found to be optimal for adsorption of TP when dyeing silk with TP. Comparing the color shade of dyed silk obtained with different metal salts as the mordant showed that ferrous sulfate gave the highest K/S value followed by copper and then aluminum. During the soaping colorfastness test, a relatively large color change was associated with increased color strength as well as non-staining of adjacent fibers.