Application of low temperature plasma on dye ability of wool with madder

In this paper, the effect of low temperature plasma treatment on the natural dyeing properties of wool is studied. Madder was used as a natural dye and copper sulfate (CuSO4) and ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) as a metal mordant. Iron and copper were used as an electrode, in DC Magnetron Plasma Sputtering System. For natural dyeing, first some of wool samples were treated with mentioned mordant, and some of them were sputtered with Copper and Iron metal particles, using plasma sputtering treatment. Then all of the wool samples were dyed with madder. The color strength of plasma treated and untreated samples were analyzed using reflective spectrophotometer. Washing and light fastness were investigated and the results show that, the color strength and fastness of dyed wool samples are improved after plasma treatment. As a result, it can be concluded that the low temperature plasma treatment could improve the natural dyeing on wool. So it is a good candidate to substitute with mordant treatment.