Effect of Ozone Treatment on the Dyeing Properties of Mulberry and Tassar Silk Fabrics

Ozone treatment has been carried out on silk fabrics and changes in the properties of the fabrics were reported recently. Further extending the work, in the present study, the dyeing studies of ozone treated mulberry and tassar silk fabrics were carried out using CI Acid Red 88. This type of study has not been carried out before. The results are quantified and expressed in terms of the dye uptake (DU), Equilibrium dye uptake (EDU) and half dyeing time ( _t1/2 ). It has been found that the ozone treatment reduced the DU of silk fabrics irrespective of whether they were in a raw or degummed state. The DU was found to be the highest at pH 12. At other pH levels, it was lower and the DU increased as the pH increased from 4 to 7. The lowest DU of ozone treated fabrics was found to be 50% wet pickup (WP) compared to 10% and 100% WP. The higher the treatment time (TT), the lower the DU. the EDU of the treated mulberry and tassar silk materials were lower than the untreated materials.