|
The flowers of Delonix regia have been evaluated for the natural dyeing of silk using a biomordant and enzymes. This is an eco‐friendly textile pretreatment that does not utilise metal mordanting. The aqueous extract obtained from the dried red flowers was used for the dyeing of silk fabrics. A bright reddish‐brown hue colour was observed when 30% owf Delonix extract was used on the pretreated silk material. The silk fabric was treated with either an enzyme or biomordant. The resulting dyed fabric showed resistance to fading. Finally, all dyed specimens were tested for wash and light fastness properties, making Delonix a viable alternative to synthetic red dyes. Through desorption studies, the order of reactivity of enzymes towards dye uptake in the one‐step process was found to be lipase > diasterase > protease–amylase = Pyrus (biomordant). For the two‐step process, the order of reactivity of enzymes was found to be protease–amylase > lipase > Pyrus (biomordant) > diasterase. Overall, it can be concluded that, treatments, the two‐step process was better in terms of larger colour yield values, fastness properties and both dye adherence ability.
|
