Effect of Different Mordants on Cotton Cloth Dyed with Aspergillus and Penicillium Dyes

Discovery of new natural dyes is important as an alternative to environmentally harmful synthetic dyes. This research was conducted using three varieties of Aspergillus dyes and six varieties of Penicillium dyes. In this study, Aspergillus and Penicillium isolates were grown in mineral salts glucose medium. Pre-mordanting on cotton cloth was conducted using different mordants, namely, alum, CaCO3, CuSO4.5H2O, FeSO4.7H2O, K2Cr2O7, and MnSO4.H2O (monohydrate). The colour of filtrate and range of colours developed on dyed materials were measured by RHS colour chart. The results indicated that colour intensity on dyed cloth was influenced by the addition of mordants.Different shades were also obtained from the same dye filtrate using different mordants. Mordant FeSO4.7H2O was found as the most appropriate mordant in combination with the fungal dyes. The present study describes new sources of fungal dyes, which can be used as an environmental friendly alternative for dyeing cloth. Aceh International Journal of Science and Technology, Vol. 6, No. 1. Hal. 19-28 ISSN 2088-9860