Babool ( Acacia nilotica ) bark and silk fibers have shown a natural synergy between them to make eco‐friendly dyeing processes. Babool bark extract, rich in tannins and polyphenolic compounds, acts as a natural dye that shows excellent interaction with the protein structure of silk fibers. This research focuses on developing an eco‐friendly procedure to dye silk fabric using aqueous Babool bark extract. The bark extract was boiled at 100°C for 60 minutes, kept overnight, filtered to get the dye solution. An optimal dyeing procedure has been ensured by optimizing the dyeing process parameters such as time, temperature, pH, and material: liquor ratio. The dyed silk fabric showed good to excellent color fastness, which has been established by extensive analysis of CMC colorimetric evaluation. The dyed silk shows good to excellent color fastness. The positive values of a ∗ and b ∗ had ensured the development of reddish‐yellow hue due to polyphenolic plant‐based dyes. The surface analysis of the resulting dyed samples through SEM analysis reveals the deposition of agglomerated particles, whereas FT‐IR analysis suggests the presence of bioactive functional groups. Antimicrobial activity demonstrated that the dyed fabric was antimicrobial resistance through the disc diffusion method, while UV–Vis spectroscopy indicated enhanced ultraviolet absorption with a maximum absorbance wavelength ( λ max ) at 278 nm. Although this aqueous extract improved the UV‐blocking performance slightly, UPF results showed that both dyed and undyed silk fabrics were below the minimum threshold required to be UV‐protective. Dyed fabrics showed good enhancement in various aspects of physicomechanical properties such as breaking force, elongation, rupture resistance, and air permeability. The research results presented here show the multifunctional performance and sustainability for natural dyeing of silk fabrics.
Sarker et al. (2026) studied this question.