Improving the Dyeing Properties of Peanut Skin Extracts to Flax Fabrics by Chitosan Pretreatment

Using chitosan as pretreatment agent, the dyeing properties of peanut skin extracts (PSE) to flax fabrics were improved. Flax fabrics have excellent comfort property and are loved by many people. However, flax is different to dye, especially with natural dye. In this research, chitosan was used to pretreat flax fabrics and PSE was used to dye the pretreated flax fabric. The optimal conditions of the chitosan pretreatment and dyeing conditions of PSE were investigated according to the K/S value of the dyed flax fabrics. Comparing the original flax fabric, the chitosan pretreated flax fabric significantly improved the absorption to PSE, and the dyed fabrics had an increased K/S value from 0.9 to 3.9, and had good color fastnesses. The main chemical constitution in PSE such as catechin, chitosan, and cellulose of flax fabrics may form hydrogen bond and ionic bond. Chitosan pretreated and dyed flax fabrics had a stronger ability to UV resistance and scavenging free radicals. The fluorescence intensity of the dyed flax fabrics was improved while it was decreased after chitosan pretreatment. Chitosan pretreatment combined PSE dyeing can be used to develop functional flax textiles without using metallic mordants.