Sustainable dyeing and functionalization of wool fabrics with black rice extract

Traditional textile colorations and functionalization consume a lot of energy, take a long time, and use a lot of chemicals; hence, cost-effective and eco-friendly natural dyeing and finishing have become a prime concern. In this study, natural dyes of black rice extract was extracted and used for the coloration and functionalization of wool fabric without using any hazardous dyes. The dyeing conditions were monitored using a one-variable-at-a-time technique, and it was discovered that the optimal dyeing conditions were M: L = 1:100, pH = 3, time = 60 min, and temperature = 90 °C. The dyed wool fabric with Al2(SO4)3 mordant shows higher fastness ratings of 4–5 for wash, 6 for light, 4–5 for dry rubbing & 4 for wet rubbing. SEM photographs confirmed the successful deposition of black rice extract on wool fabrics. In addition, mechanical properties, UV protection, and antimicrobial tests also revealed that the treated wool fabric has excellent UV protection capability and good antimicrobial properties along with adequate strengths. The ultraviolet protection factor was more than 35 in optimized conditions, and the strength increased more than 10% comparing untreated wool fabric. The antibacterial performances shown more than 80% reduction rate after 20 washing cycles. Therefore, the black rice extract are very promising and can be considered as the potential candidate for the sustainable dyeing and functionalization of wool fabric in the textile industry.