Simultaneous Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles and Natural Indigo Dyeing of Wool Fiber

Abstract

The wool fiber is a suitable medium for growing different microorganism. In recent years, the treatment of textiles with silver compounds as an active antibacterial agent has gained increased attention to produce advanced medical and hygiene textiles. The current work aims to synthesize silver nanoparticles through two different methods, which are silver pre-treatment and simultaneous silver treatment during indigo dyeing procedures. The formation of spherical silver nanoparticle confirmed by the appearance of a single symmetric extinction peak around 415 nm. The morphology of the indigo-dyed wool fabrics examined using scanning electron microscopy, and their colorimetric characteristics evaluated. The SEM images of wool fiber samples indicated that the silver pre-treatment method resulted in the formation of smaller micro-size (0.73 µm) platelet-like structure of indigo colorant compared with simultaneous silver treatment method (1.46 µm). The indigo-dyed wool samples without silver treatment presented lower color strength at all visible wavelengths compared with silver treatment indigo-dyed samples. Moreover, the simultaneous silver treatment method resulted in a lower color strength compare with the silver pre-treatment method, which due to lower silver content.