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Abstract
Aloe vera is an agricultural resource widely used in many fields, but it has not been fully exploited as a biological dye in textile substrates. This work explored an approach for using Aloe vera rinds (AVRs) for the simultaneous dyeing and UV-protective functional finishing of silk fabrics. The optimal extraction conditions and the chemical composition of Aloe vera dye (AVD) were investigated. The colour parameters, colour-fastness, and UV-protective properties of silk fabrics dyed with AVD were tested. The results showed that the extracts mainly included polyphenols and flavonoids. The dyed fabrics obtained a colour depth (K/S) of 7.9447 and > 4 grades of colour-fastness to washing and rubbing without using a mordant. The dyed fabrics exhibited a surprising ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 2075.76 and remained at 1241.23 after 25 washing cycles, which was much higher than standard recommended. This research provides a method for the value-added management of agricultural waste for natural dyeing and functional finishing of textiles.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.