Investigating the Preparation and Properties of Dies :: Dyeing Investigations Dye Essays

Investigating the Preparation and Properties of Dies Aim: To investigate the preparation and properties of dies. Introduction - Dyeing is a process of colouring materials, such as textile fibres, so that the colouring matter becomes an integral part of the fibre. Dyes, or ‘dyestuffs’, are soluble compounds that can be either absorbed and retained by the fibre or chemically combined with it. Dyes are generally fast, that is, they retain their colour in the fibre throughout the textile-making process and under exposure to normal wear, including sunlight, water, and detergent washing. (Textile dying) - Dyes can be classified as either natural or synthetic. The only natural dye still used on a large scale is logwood, which imbues silk, wool, cellulose acetate, and nylon with a deep black colour. With the exception of a few inorganic materials used in special processes, all dyestuffs used in textile applications are synthetic organic chemicals.  · Information taken from Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2003 Preliminary Work About this topic, an experiment to evaluate how quickly a dye can spread in water and the reactions between the dye and bases and acids, called Chromatography has been carried out. When beetroots were mixed with hot water, the dye spread out quicker and was brighter than with cold water, due to the fastness of moving molecules in the hot water. No real conclusion was established however, for the experiment was done to give a fair idea of how dyes ‘work’. Prediction My prediction is that if the amount of water in the die is reduced, the die will be stronger, and if it is increased, the die will become weaker. I also think that with salt as a mordant, the cloth will become dyed more quickly than with sugar or with no mordant at all. As my variable is the type of mordant, I predict that the dye colour will be stronger with salt and weaker with no mordant. Equipment List The apparatus used will be:  · Coffee, Red Cabbage and Red wine (to carry out experiment)  · Board Cleaning Cloth (to place dye in)  · Salt and sugar (as fixatives, to grip dye to fabric)  · Measuring cylinder (to measure amount of water, dyes and mordant)  · Old pot (to dye fabrics in)  · Gloves (So that hands do not interfere with the experiment, and not to stain them)  · Beaker (To grind dye sources in)  · Thermometer (to measure the temperature of water)  · Scale (To measure the mass of the dyes and fixatives)  · Stopwatch (To count the simmering time) Carrying out the Investigation  · Material (dye source) is broken into small pieces in the beaker (or