Brazilian Plume (<i>Justicia carnea</i> L.) Leaf Wine-Colored Extract for Natural Dyeing of Mordant-Functionalized Cellulosic Fabric: Color Strength, Coordinates, and Fastness

Increasing awareness of protecting the environment from chemically aided naive ecosystem degradation has encouraged the use of eco-friendly (biomass) materials in industrial production globally. This study investigated the application of a natural wine-colored extract from Brazilian plume (BP) leaf, obtained through a microwave-assisted modern aqueous extraction technique, for toxic-free dyeing of mordant-functionalized cotton fabric. Dyeing of mordanted cotton fabric was optimized by varying dyeing parameters, such as dyeing contact time (10 to 90 min), pH (1 to 11), liquor ratio (1:5 to 1:30), and temperature (30 to 90 °C). UV-visible and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analyses confirmed that the chemical constituents of the extract were not altered by microwave radiation. The desired color strength (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>K</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>S</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) and dye-uptake (Q) were obtained at a dyeing time of 50 min, a pH of 7, a liquor ratio of 1:20, and a dyeing temperature of 60 °C. Varieties of elegant shades with desired colorfastness were developed through the involvement of less-toxic electrolyte and herbal mordants as functionalizing agents. BP extract is established as a potential sustainable and ecological colorant for textile industrial application.