Union Dyeing of Cotton-Silk Blended Woven Fabric Using Tanin Bio-mordant and Thyme as a Colourant

The study explores the application of tea leaf-extracted tannin as a bio-mordant and thyme extract as a natural dye on cationized silk-cotton blend fabric to enhance colour fastness and absorption. The colour strength and depth (shown as DL, Da, and Db values) on silk-cotton blend fabric were investigated in the CIE lab test. The results showed that temperature, shade percentage, and mordanting had a substantial impact on the dyeing process efficacy at DL = 30.61, Da = 11.49 and Db = 12.77. When the temperature was raised to 90 °C and the dye content was increased to 120%, the dyed sample's colour fastness (as measured by wash, rubbing, and perspiration) significantly improved, acquiring a grade of 4 to 5, which indicates good to excellent. There was a slight change in wet rubbing fastness from grade 3 to grade 4, indicating good to fair. The K/S values of the silk and cotton fibres, which ranged from 8.89 to 7.94 on average, respectively, demonstrated that the processes of bio-mordanting and cationization enhanced the absorption of dye. Tensile strength and extension increased in the weft direction to 22.19 N force and 5.21% extension at break, while the warp direction showed a fall to 6.63 N force and a rise in extension of 0.72%. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Amino (N-H) bonds, Carbohydrate bonds (CH), Tannins, and Terpenoid phytochemicals of thyme in the dyed sample. The study highlights the potential of thyme extract as a natural dye and its benefits in improving the dyeing properties of silk-cotton blend fabric.