Effect of Vitamin C After-Treatment on the Lightfastness of Ketapang (Terminalia Catappa) Dyed Cotton and Silk

Natural dyes are increasingly studied as a more sustainable option for textile colouration. However, poor colourfastness, especially when exposed to light, remains one of their limitations. This study examined the effect of different mordant:dye ratios and Vitamin C after-treatment on the lightfastness of cotton and silk dyed with Terminalia catappa (Ketapang) leaf extract. Dried Ketapang leaves were pulverised and used as the dye source, with alum as the mordant. Three mordant:dye ratios were tested, which were 25:50, 37.5:50 and 50:50. Vitamin C at 1 g/L was applied under three conditions. For AT1 and AT2, Vitamin C was added to the dyebath at 95 °C and 60 °C, respectively. AT3 was treated separately by immersion in Vitamin C solution at 23 °C. Samples without Vitamin C after-treatment were used as controls. The dyed samples were exposed to direct sunlight for 40 h and the colour changes were visually compared with the original samples. The results showed a different response between silk and cotton. On silk, deeper shades were observed after sunlight exposure, particularly at the 50:50 mordant:dye ratio. This shows that mordant concentration and the Vitamin C treatment condition affected the colour response of silk after light exposure. Cotton, however, showed no substantial improvement and remained relatively pale under the different treatment conditions. Overall, Vitamin C after-treatment gave a more noticeable effect on silk than cotton, with the 50:50 ratio showing the clearest post-exposure colour development. Further analysis is needed to understand the colour changes observed on the silk samples.
Keywords: Terminalia catappa; natural dye; Vitamin C after-treatment; lightfastness; sustainability

Natural Dyes, Sustainability on textile dyeing

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