Chitosan as an eco-friendly template for enzymatic textile dyeing with horseradish peroxidase

Enzyme-based dyeing processes have demonstrated the efficacy of synthetic templates; however, research on natural templates remains limited. This study explores the feasibility of enzyme dyeing processes for cellulose and protein fibers and verifies the potential of chitosan (CS) as a template to replace chemical templates. The dyeing mechanism of textiles was thoroughly analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The dyeability and functionality of dyed textiles were examined through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The color and colorfastness of textiles were evaluated using color depth analysis and various fastness tests. The results demonstrated that applying CS templates in the dyeing process increased K/S values and improved colorfastness for both silk and cotton fabrics. The K/S value of the dyed silk fabric increased from 5.6 to 7.8 following the application of the chitosan template, with color fastness improving by approximately one grade. For the dyed cotton fabric, the K/S value rose from 2.2 to 3.1, and color fastness improved by one or two grades on average.