The Influence of Mordanting on the Dyeability of Cotton Dyed with Turmeric Extract

The dyeability of cotton fabric with turmeric extract in two concentrations (pale and dark dyeing) was studied using four different mordants in low concentration (0.2 g/l). As mordants three metal salts were used as mordants (ferrous sulphate, aluminium sulphate and zinc chloride), and organic mordant tannin. The mordanting of cotton was performed before, during and after dyeing, namely by pre-, meta-, and post-mordanting application methods. Colour fastness of dyed samples to repetitive washing and hot pressing was also performed. The colour values of the dyed samples were measured on a reflectance spectrophotometer. The results showed that the dyeability of the cotton with turmeric extract is greatly influenced by the used mordant and its application method. The highest dyeing uptake (dyeability) was achieved by pre-mordanting with aluminium sulphate. All the mordanted samples had improved colour fastness, especially those samples meta-mordanted with ferrous sulphate.