Tie Dye Chemistry Experiment

Haley Heptig
H18
Chemistry

Period 5

Objective:

Use the process of dying fabrics to illustrate chemical reactions, equilibrium, chemical bonding, and pH.

Pre-Lab Questions:

1.) Where did the art of dying fibers originate?

-The art of dying fibers began India or China no later than 2500B.C.
  
  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ceDthNrGkjcsIJyj_RzkZx7Nq6T0KUvDa71u3xO-dsM/edit#slide=id.gd3d992c6_035

2.) Originally, what type of substances were used to dye?

- Some types of substances are berries, and others plants such as Blackberries, red cabbage leaves, and mulberries.

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/print-version/?p=/kids-only/things-to-make-and-do/natural-dyes/index.html

3.) What are the fibers of the shirt made of?

- The fibers of the shirt is made of cotton. Cotton is a textile fiber.

4.) What chemical interaction is occurring when fibers are dyed?

-When it comes to dying, a low pH forms the ionic bonds that later attach acid dyes to fibers of the cotton shirt.

Procedure:

Step 1: With a permanent marker, write your name on the cloth you will be tie dying. There will be many other shirts in the lab during this activity; be sure yours is marked to avoid losing it.

Step 2: Soak your cloth in the hot water for about 5 minutes. Be sure you put it in the tub marked for your period.

Step 3: Put on a pair of gloves, remove your cloth from the soaking tub and wring out. Using the below diagrams, tie you cloth in one (or a combination of) the methods shown using string or rubber bands.

Step 4: Dye application. Apply the dye using the applicator bottles. Be aware that mixing will occur where the dyes come in contact with each other. Using complimentary colors (purple and yellows, blues and orange, or red and green) near each other usually produces a brownish black color. Also, the more dye you put on a given spot, the less white will remain on the final product.

Step 5: Place your dye-soaked item in a grocery or other plastic bag marked clearly with your name. No pooling of liquid should appear in the bag.

Step 6: After the cloth has soaked for at least 24 hours, open the bag, remove the item, and rinse it several times with warm water, before removing strings or rubber bands. Once it is rinsing clean, remove the ties and rinse several times again until it is rinsing clean. At this point, you can hang it to dry or place it in another bag to take home and wash. The first time you wash it, place it alone in the washing machine with just a small squirt of dishwashing liquid like Dawn or Joy. Do not use laundry detergent.

Data:

1.) Write down a synopsis of what occurred before the dyeing of the shirt.  

-First, I tied up my white shirt with rubber bands and placed the shirt in a bucket filled with warm water. I let it soak for approximately 5 minutes before rinsing the shirt. Then, I tied the shirt in way the would give the shirt a striped pattern.

2.) Explain the process used to dye 

your shirt - pattern, tying method.

- I decided to do a striped pattern. Firstly, I laid the shirt flat on the table and rolled the shirt so that it would appear to be a stick made of cloth. Then, I tied the shirt with rubber bands, leaving only a few inches between each band. Lastly, I applied dye to each section of the shirt.

         

3.) After the shirt sat for 24 hours, describe the pattern of the shirt - picture, if possible.

-For the most part, you are able to see the striped pattern dyed into the shirt. However, to can also see parts of the shirt that could have used more dye, particularly the top of the shirt. I have never actually dyed any type of cloth before, so this was a learning experience. For my first time, I believe the shirt came out okay but I also feel as if I could have done a bit of a better job.

Post-Lab Questions:

1.) If you dyed a rainbow spiral on a shirt and then soaked it in a black dye bath, the result would be a black shirt with a rainbow spiral pattern. Why doesn’t the entire shirt dye black?

-It doesn't entirely turn black because the dye from the rainbow spiral has filled the cotton fibers with those colors. Thus, those cotton fibers do not absorb the black dye.

2. What is the purpose of soaking the shirts in the hot water for 5 minutes?

- The purpose of soaking the shirt is that the warm water is so the shirt is able to be dyed easier. By soaking the shirt, more pH produces, which is why the shirt becomes easier to dye.

3. Why is 100% cotton the best type of cloth to use with fiber reactive dyes?

- It is better to use 100% cotton because the cotton fibers allow the shirt to absorb the dye and form bonds with the fibers both inside and outside of the shirt.

4. What are some advantages of fiber reactive dyes?

- Some advantages of fiber reactive dyes is that it forms a covalent bond with the fiber within the fabric of the shirt. Because of this, the dye never leaves to fabric. These are advantages because sometimes the dye stains the fabric and/or fades out.

5. Explain how ionic bonding is used to dye the shirts in this lab.

-Cellulose,which is OH thread,loses an hydrogen ion when a base is applied which leaves a potential bonding site. The O ion then becomes negative and the OH ion can then bond with the positive dye ion and the negative Cl ion which is with the dye balances it out then you are just left with the dye ion then the negative O ion can bond with the positively charged dye ion.

Sources:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ceDthNrGkjcsIJyj_RzkZx7Nq6T0KUvDa71u3xO-dsM/edit#slide=id.g2ae90d638_010