Re: Silk Velvet (sulfur)

[Mary Ballard <BallardM@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Silk fiber contains a negligible quantity of sulfur. However, it absorbs and
retains sulfur in various forms. Heasoon Rhee and I wrote several papers on
the tendency of silk to adsorb sodium lauryl sulfate (up to 2.73%owf).* In
this instance the anionic surfactant acts as a 'shampoo and conditioner all
in one' and gives the silk a slightly softer hand. Modern acid dyes for silk
are going to have sulphonic acid substituents in order to make the dye
soluble in water. I haven't heard of these components being a problem for
silver but you could interface the silk with some sacrificial, absorbent
like Pacifica cloth if you suspected a source of sulfur contamination. Mary

*bibliographic references see http://www.bcin.ca/Interface/bcin.cgi