MORDANTINGTHETEXTILESFOR NATURALDYEING

Mordant
Thetermmordantisusedforchemicalswhichusuallyhaveametalwithavalency ofatleasttwoor more,theycanalsobeothertypesofcompoundaswell. Naturaldyesalsoreferredasmordantdyes;donotreadilyadheretocottonsomordants areused. Mordants areneededtosetthecolorwhenusingnaturaldyes. Differentmordants willgivedifferenthuecolorwiththesamedye.Amordantisthusachemicalagent whichallowsareactiontooccurbetweenthedyeandthefabric.Intextiles,mordants areusedtofixthe colorindyeingorfabricprinting,especiallyforfabricsofplantorigin(cotton).

Mordants

Mordantisaddedtothedyesourcetoinfluenceit,itdoesnotserveasacolorsourceonits own.Thefabricisimpregnatedwiththemordant,thenduringthedyeingprocessthedye reactswiththemordant,formingachemicalbondandattachingitfirmlytothefabric. Thechoiceofmordantdependsuponthefabric.Analkalimordant,suchassodaash,works wellwithcotton,andacidmordantsuchasvinegarworkswellwithwool.

Metal Mordants
Metalmordants canbedefinedasapolyvalentmetalionwhichformscoordinationcomplexeswith certaindyes. Twotypesofbondsareinvolvedinthefundamentalreactionbetweenamordantdyeandamordant. Oneisacovalentbondwithusuallyhydroxyloxygenandthemetalatom. Theotherisacoordinatebondwiththemetalwiththedoublebondedotheroxygenalsoreferredas chelation.Itispossible,howeverthattheformationofdyemordantcomplexesinvolvingseveral moleculesofdyecanalsoform.Varyingtheamountofmordantwiththedyeisawaytoexertsome controloverthechangeinhuecolor. Thetwocommonestmetalsusedinnaturaldyeingarealuminium andferricionsbothhavingvalencies ofthree.

OH COOH O

Al O C OH

Treatment of fabric before dyeing

Afterremovingtheimpurityoffabricthenitistreatedwith4%(owf)solutionoftannicacidinwater. Thefabricshouldbedippedintannicacidsolutionforatleast45hours.Itissqueezedanddried.After mordanting,thefabricisusedfordyeing.Dyeingwoulddependuponthetypeofmordanting used. Thereareothertypesofpretreatmentusedthesedayswhichareecofriendly.Theyaremainlytwo types: 1.Enzymes likeamylase,trypsin,cellulase and 2.Polyethyleneglycol(PEG). Boththesetypesareusedasdepthimproverfordyefixation. Incasewherethedyemoleculehasacidicfunctionalitiesbetalamic acidtype,usuallybasic pretreatmentwithsodiumhydroxide,ethylenediamine ormorpholine helpsasdepthimproverfordye fixation.

Methods of Mordanting:
Thepercentageofchemicalsandtheweightofthematerialtobedyedareveryimportant.Thedetails ofchemicalstobeusedforvariousmordants withtheirquantity,fixedtemperatureistobemaintained, durationoftimeandtheproceduretobefollowedaftermordanting andbeforedyeinghavetobe followedstrictly.Therearethreewaysofmordanting.Mordants anddyesmaybeappliedinthreeways. Theyareasfollows: Premordanting,wherethemordantisappliedfirst,followedbydyeing. Postmordanting,wherethedyeingisdonefirstandthenmordanting iscarriedout. Simultaneousmordanting,wheremordantanddyearemixedtogetherandapplied.

Different types of Mordants

Mordants arecommerciallyavailable,commonlyintheformofsaltsfrommetalssuchaschrome, copper,tin,ironandaluminium. Thesemordants arelistedindescendingorderofrelativetoxicity.Othertypesofmordants whichare notmetalmordants aretannins,creamoftartar,bakingsodaandvinegar. Thelatertwoservetochangethealkalinityandacidity,respectively,ofthedye,anotherpropertythat influencesthefinalcolor. Besidesmetallicsalts,tanninsandotherinorganiccompounds,sometimesoilssuchasoilofturkeyand itstypearealsousedasmordants

Enhancement by mordant

Itisoftenremarkedthattheadditionofamordanttoanappropriatedyesolutionresultsina verysudden,dramaticchangeincolor.Thisisduetotheincorporationofthemetalatominto thedelocalizedelectronsystemofthedye.Metalshaverelativelylowenergylevels,sotheir incorporationintoadelocalizedsystemresultsinloweringoftheoverallenergy.The absorbanceofthehueandthusitscolorisrelatedtothisphenomenon.

Use of Mordant
Mostdyersmordanttheclothandthenapplythedyesastwoseparatesteps.Theadvantageisthatthe mordanthasachancetobiteintothefiber,sothatwhenthecolorisapplied,maximumamountof bondingtakesplace.Manydyersturnedtonaturaldyesbecausetheyaresafeandnontoxic,soitis imperativetoascertainwhetherthemordants thatareusedtofixthedyesaresafeornot.Mostofthe mordants thatareusedfornaturaldyeingarenotseriouslytoxic. Thebetterresultsobtainedincaseofpremordanting withstannouschlorideandferroussulphate are attributedtotheemptydorbitals offerrousandstannicions.Themodeofbindingofdyeseems differentwithironandaluminium ions.

H O O HO O O O H Fe O O

OH

OH

OH O

Binding with ferrous ion

Thepremordanting withferroussulphate showedleastcolordischargeafterwashingbecauseofthe pretreatmentoffabricwithtannicacidwhichshows100%ironbindingefficiencyintermsoftannic acidequivalents. Theironbindingbyphenolics increaseswithincreasingnumberofOHgroups.Aflavonoid ringBand a3,4dihydroxygroupisrequiredforFebinding(I)andincaseofaluminium ionbinding,the3 hydroxychromanegroupsarerequiredasshowninthestructure(II)below.

OH HO O OH O OH O A l O O HO O HO OH OH

Mordanting for Cotton

Cottonhasverylowaffinityfornaturaldyes.Thetanninsplayanimportantroleincottondyeingandare largelyusedforpreparingcottonsoastoenableittoretaincoloringmatterpermanently. Mostcommonmordantforcottonisthustanninortannicacid.Itoccursinmanytannincontaining substances,especiallyingallnutswhichhasabout6070%tannicacid. Theaqueoussolutionoftannicacidgraduallydecomposesonstandingbyfermentation.Additionof boricacidinhibitsthedecomposition.Itisalsoconsideredasprimarymordantbeforemordanting the cottonfabricwithmetallicsalts.

Common mordants used in Natural dyeing

Alum (potassiumaluminumsulfate)isthemostcommonmordant.Ifyouarenotsurewhatyouwant todo,mordantwithalum,andusetheothersasadditives.Alumdoesnotaffectcolor.Itisusuallyused withcreamoftartar,whichhelpsevennessandbrightensslightly.Three3:1ofalum:creamoftartaris agoodstart;ifheavywoolisused4ofalumcanbeusedsafely.Toomuchalummakeswoolsticky. Alum Iron (ferroussulfate)iscalledcopperas.Itwillsaddenordarkencolors,bringingoutgreenshades. Usuallycottonandwoolisdyedbeforemordanting withironwhendarkershadesarerequired. Simmeringdyebathforhour,toomuchironwillhardenwoolandmakeitstreak. Tin(stannouschloride)bloomsorbrightenscolors,especiallyreds,orangesandyellows.Almostalways usedwithcreamoftartarSimmeringforanhourandrinseinsoapywaterbeforedyeing.Tinisa goodadditivemordant.Toomuchtinmakeswoolbrittle.Itiscaustic,besuretohandlecarefullyand cleanupthoroughly. Bluevitriol (coppersulfate)saddenscolorsandbringsoutgreens.Itisagoodadditive.Usedalone, oneouncewillmordantapoundofwool.Rinsefiberwell,storewetordry.Bluevitriolispoisonousso careshouldbetakenwhenusingit.

Common Mordants
Tannicacid isagoodmordantifonewanttansorbrowns,orforcottonorlinen(vegetablefibers).Wool mordanted withtannicacidbeforedyeingtendstodarkenwithage. Glauber's salts arealevelingagent,notamordant.Addingcuptothedyebathpreventsstreaking. Colorwillchangeslightly.Cottonandwooldyedtoslightlydifferentshadeswiththesamedyestuffcan bebroughttoamoreevencolorwithGlauber's salts.AdditionofonecupofGlauber's saltstothedye bath,whendissolved,andfabricissimmeredfortoonehour,untilthedifferentshadeshaveblended intouniformity.Thefinalcolorwillbealittledullerbutwillhaveevenness. Creamoftartar isalsousedinsomecasesasadditivetohelpingettingevennessandbrightensslightly. Sometimesaddingcreamoftartartothedyebathwillimprovethecolorsdeveloped,withchrome mordanted fiber.Thecreamoftartaristobeaddedtothedyebathbeforeenteringthefiber.

Test for evaluating the effect of mordant

Astudywascarriedouttoseetheeffectofmordantondyeuptakeandenhancementof fastnessproperties.Thefigure showsthattreatmentofthefabricwithonlytannicacid, tannicacidandalumshowgradualincreaseindyeuptake,althoughblank(unmordanted) fabricshowsgooddyeuptakebutitallwashesofftherebyshowingtheimportanceof mordanting.

Cotton mordanting
Treatmentwithtannicacidhelpsthecottonfabrictoabsorballtypesofmetallicmordants.Themetallic mordants formcomplexwiththecarboxylicgroupsoftannicacid. Frequentlythepurposeofpreparingthecottonfiberswithtanninisnotsomuchtofixthecoloring matter,althoughthatisthefinalgoal,astofixcertainmetallicsaltssuchasalum,copper,tinandironin theformofinsolubletannates. Themetaltannates presentonthefabricforminsolublelakeswiththenaturaldyesduringdyeing.