Oleaeuropea (olive leaf) extract as a sustainable material for enhancing some appearance and performance properties of polyamide 6 fabric

Due to the environmental legislations worldwide, utilization of natural materials and colorants in textile dyeing and finishing of textiles has become mandatory and is in the frontline of production lines. Herein, polyamide 6 (PA) fabric was dyed with natural colorant extracted from olive leaves as an alternative to the synthetic dyes and harsh chemicals used conventionally for this purpose. A systematic study was carried out to assign the optimum dyeing conditions for PA fabrics utilizing olive leaf extract (OLE). The color intensity and colorimetric data of the dyed fabrics along with their fastness properties were evaluated. The effect of two metal salt mordants, namely copper II sulfate pentahydrate and aluminum sulfate, together with two bio-mordants, namely tannic acid and sodium alginate, on the dyeability of PA fabrics with OLE was examined. Results of this investigation proved that the OLE is a suitable candidate for dyeing of PA fabrics with a high K/S and excellent colorfastness to washing, perspiration, and crocking, along with medium colorfastness to light. The used dyebath as well as the residual solid powder of the extraction process, we used for dyeing of PA fabrics for up to six and five times, respectively, with acceptable K/S values for the dyed samples. The antimicrobial efficiency of the dyed PA fabrics against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as Candida albicans was remarkably improved. The alterations in the structure of the dyed fabrics were studied using scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). The effects of dyeing PA fabrics with OLE in the presence and absence of mordant on their resistance to the deteriorative action of UV rays as well as the tensile strength and elongation at break were investigated.