SOIL MAKES SENSE: A TEXTILE CHEMIST'S PERSPECTIVE.

摘要

With innumerable natural colorants available, projecting their own pros and cons, the current paper makes an attempt to decipher out the nuances which are desired from the natural colour. There is wide scope for the application of natural colorant on natural fibre1, wherein natural colourants are harmonized with a possibility of very little chemical reaction and consequently little health hazard2, .soil which until now was considered an important trait for crop production has gradually come out of the regular constraints. Certain varieties of soils, which are unfit for cultivation can be readily utilized for the coloration process. Red soil is one such kind of soil, which agriculturally waste, is found in the southern as well as konkan region of India. The soil comprises of iron oxide as its major component. As evident Irons versatility is unique, it is at the active centre of molecules responsible for oxygen transfer and electron transport and it is found in or with diverse metalloenzymes4, . These inorganic pigments suitable for use in surface coating are found naturally or may be produced synthetically. However the shade and quality of iron oxide varies with the quality of the deposit oxide6. Invariably the substrate selection is also unique as naturally coloured cotton was selected which are genetically coloured variety wherein the intensity and the time taken for the complete development of colour varies with the genetic background of the genotype7. Currently brown and green are the shades, which are obtained in India8. Work is underway for producing more colours and shades9, . All in all to enunciate purpose of the present piece of work is to highlight the use of soil as a colorant for textiles.