Natural dyes have attracted increasing worldwide attention because of the carcinogenicity and environmental effects of synthetic dyes. In this study, wool fabric was treated with tannin‐rich extracts of Punica granatum peel and walnut shell in combination with some mordants. The effect of various mordants on the colorimetric and antibacterial properties of wool fabrics was investigated. The results showed that pretreatment with metallic mordants substantially improved the dyeing and fastness properties of wool fabrics. The extracts of Punica granatum peel and walnut shell showed a significant antibacterial activity at 5% concentration. In addition, antibacterial activity was dramatically enhanced using metallic salts. The antibacterial activity of samples dyed with natural dyes and without any mordant was not good, while the mordanted samples with copper, aluminum and tin salts obtained considerable antimicrobial properties following lightening and washing fastness. The extracts of Punica granatum peel and walnut shell can be considered as viable alternatives instead of artificial antibacterial agents for hospital textiles as well as an effective anti‐odour agent for sports and household textiles.

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The electrospun nanofibers emerge several advantages because of extremely high specific surface area and small pore size. This work studies the effect of PVA nanofibers diameter and nano‐sized TiO2 on optical properties as reflectivity of light and color of a nanostructure assembly consisting polyvinyl alcohol and titanium dioxide (PVA/TiO2) composite nanofibers prepared by electrospinning technique. The PVA/TiO2 composite spinning solution was prepared through incorporation of TiO2 nanoparticles as inorganic optical filler in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution as an organic substrate using the ultrasonication method. The morphological and optical properties of collected composites nanofibers were highlighted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and reflective spectrophotometer (RS). The reflectance spectra indicated the less reflectance and lightness of composite with higher nanofiber diameter. Also, the reflectance and lightness of nanofibers decreased with increasing nano‐TiO2 concentration. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013

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