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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999  > December  >
In the Laboratory
JCE Classroom Activity
Colors to Dye for: Preparation of Natural Dyes

Cover
December 1999
Vol. 76 No. 12
p. 1688A
Abstract
Use of dyes can be traced to earliest history. The coloring properties of materials such as berries and bark were most likely discovered when clothing accidentally became stained with them. Dyes made from natural sources such as plants, animals, and minerals tend to produce colors that wash out easily. With most natural dyes, a mordant can be used to make the color more permanent. In the mordanting process the fiber is treated with a solution of a metal salt (usually an aluminum, chromium, copper, iron, or tin salt). Then the fiber is dyed. Metal ions from the salt form strong bonds with the fiber and also with the dye, thereby holding the dye to the fiber. In this activity, you can easily extract colored compounds from plant material, use them to dye white cloth, and investigate ways to change the color and prevent it from washing out.
More Information
*  Citation
 J. Chem. Educ. 1999 76 1688A.
*  Keywords
 Introductory / High School Chemistry; Teaching / Learning Aids; Dyes; Food Science
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 November 10, 1999
June 23, 2005
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