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Abstract The dyeing process of textile materials is inherently intricate, influenced by a myriad of factors, including dye concentration, dyeing time, pH level, temperature, type of dye, fiber composition, mechanical agitation, salt concentration, mordants, fixatives, water quality, dyeing method, and pre-treatment processes. The intricacy of achieving optimal settings during dyeing poses a significant challenge. In response, this study introduces a novel algorithmic approach that integrates response surface methodology (RSM), artificial neural network (ANN), and genetic algorithm (GA) techniques for the precise fine-tuning of concentration, time, pH, and temperature. The primary focus is on quantifying color strength, represented as K/S, as the response variable in the dyeing process of polyamide 6 and woolen fabric, utilizing plum-tree leaves as a sustainable dye source. Results indicate that ANN (R2 ~ 1) performs much better than RSM (R2 > 0.92). The optimization results, employing ANN-GA integration, indicate that a concentration of 100 wt.%, time of 86.06 min, pH level of 8.28, and a temperature of 100 °C yield a K/S value of 10.21 for polyamide 6 fabric. Similarly, a concentration of 55.85 wt.%, time of 120 min, pH level of 5, and temperature of 100 °C yield a K/S value of 7.65 for woolen fabric. This proposed methodology not only paves the way for sustainable textile dyeing but also facilitates the optimization of diverse dyeing processes for textile materials.

The comfort properties of a textile cannot be dissociated from its function. Considering this premise, we evaluated the physical and mechanical performance of a previously developed cosmeto-textile composed of cotton/elastane, functionalized with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and BSA/silk fibroin (BSA/SF) nanoemulsions, encapsulating α-tocopherol (vitamin E). The surface functionalization of cotton fabrics with the nanoemulsions was confirmed by fabric staining with Coomassie Brilliant Blue R250 and by FTIR-ATR. The comfort properties including wetting, stiffness, stretching, draping ability, electrical resistance, and air and vapor permeability were evaluated. The results revealed that the functionalization of cotton fabrics with the developed protein-based nanoemulsions did not disturb the comfort properties of the textile material nor its functionality. This gives a good indication of the potential of the developed breathable cosmeto-textile to be used in contact with the human body with acceptable performance.

This paper investigates the feasibility of dyeing viscose rayon fabric with an anthocyanin solution extracted from H. sabdariffa L. calyces. For eco-friendly dyeing and improvement of the natural dye’s affinity to fabrics, natural mordants instead of traditional metallic mordants were applied. The effect of natural mordant types and mordanting procedures (pre-, meta- and after-mordanting) was evaluated by colorimetric measurement (CIE Lab and K/S values) and color fastness. Four natural mordants including alginate, walnut hull, lemon peel, and pinecone were used. The results show that the light and wash fastness (1–2 degrees according to the blue scale and the grayscale) of the un-mordanted viscose fabric were very low and unsuitable. Natural mordants, especially walnut husk and alginate, could improve color strength and color fastness. The light fastness value of the dyed fabric was improved, reaching a value of 5–6 in the presence of walnut, lemon, and pinecone mordants. The highest wash and light fastness was obtained when the after-mordanting method was used. Also, the use of walnut husk mordant increased the color strength and decreased the lightness of the dyed fabrics, as compared to other natural mordants, in all three methods of mordanting.