FABRIC SCIENCE III

ASSIGNMENT 2
ULTRA-VOILET FINISHES

BY:
DHRUV SAHNEY
BFT/17/54
 INTRODUCTION

The protection of the skin against the action of UV radiation is a relatively new objective of
textile finishing. The reason for this is, UV radiation can lead to skin damage acute and chronic
reactions and damage, such as acceleration of skin ageing and sunburn. The unfinished fabric
has the limitation to guarantee adequate protection.
UV radiation also causes of degradation of textile materials, which is due to excitations in
some parts of the polymer molecule and a gradual loss of integrity, and depends on the nature
of the fibres.
Solar UVR that reaches earth have wavelength between 290-400nm.
The order of potency is -UVC >UVB >UBA.
Ultraviolet protection factor
UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) is the term used to indicate the amount of ultraviolet
protection provided to skin by fabric. UPF measures both UV-A & UV-B radiation blocked. UPF
rating does not refer to the design of the garment; it is just its material. A fabric with a UPF
15 allows only 1/15th (6.66%) of the UV-radiation to penetrate the skin as compared to
uncovered skin. In other words, it blocks 98% of the UV radiation. Larger the UPF/SPF, the
more protective the fabric to UV radiation.
UPF is based on a vitro test method and it is a ranking of the sun protective abilities of textile.
The objective is to achieve factors between 30 and 50.
Mechanism
Clothing has ability to protect the skin from incident solar radiation because the fabric from
which it is made can reflect, absorb, transmit and scatter solar wavelengths.
Several different effects occur when UV radiation hits a textile surface, causing the UV
radiation to be broken down into several components. Part of the radiation is reflected at the
boundaries of the textile surface another part is absorbed, then it penetrates the sample, that
is, it is converted to a different energy form. Yet another part of the radiation travels through
the fabric and reaches the skin this part is referred to as the “Transmission”.
The relative amounts of radiation reflected, absorbed or transmitted depend on many factors,
including
• Fibre Chemistry
• Fabric Construction, Porosity, Thickness and Weight.
• Dye Concentration, Whitening agents, UV absorbers
• Moisture content
• Finishing chemicals
 ULTRA-VOILET FINISHES

Finishing with UV absorbers

A UV absorber is a colourless molecular entity which absorbs ultraviolet light of range 290-
400nm efficiently and converts the UV energy into relatively harmless thermal or heat energy.
This transformation is regenerative and can be repeated indefinitely.
These compounds have negligible absorption in the visible region and consequently a high
light fastness. UV absorbers have to be distributed mono-molecularly in the substrate for
maximum effect. Besides, they should meet other criteria such as:
• Absorb effectively throughout the UV region (280-400nm)
• Be UV stable itself
• Dissipate the absorbed energy in such a way so as to cause no degradation or colour
change in the medium it protects.
• Should be non-toxic and non- skin irritant.
UV Absorbers are of two types: Organic Absorbers & Inorganic Absorbers.
Organic Absorbers: These are derivatives of O-hydroxy benzophenone, O-hydroxyphenyl
benzotriazole and O-hydroxy phenyltriazine.
These have excellent sublimation fastness and self-dispersing formulation. In these,
orthohydroxy group is for absorption and to make soluble alkaline solution.
These are applied by normal padding, coating, pad thermosol process.
It is focused on commercial UV absorbers and Aloe Vera, a natural UV absorber. The 5
important commercial ultraviolet absorbers are 2-hydroxy benzophenones, 2-(2-
hydroxyphenl) benzotriazoles, salicylic acid derivatives, Aryl disubstituted acrylates and nickel
chelates.
Inorganic Absorbers: These are compounds of Titanium oxide and ceramic materials. These
have an absorption capacity in the UV region of 290-400nm.
The presence of TiO2 particles in a fabric results in scattering of UV rays and thus makes it
less permeable to UV rays. Zinc oxide can also be used in combination with titanium oxide to
increase the UV absorption capacity. The other ceramic materials, which are used because of
their effective reflection of UV rays are aluminium and aluminium silicate.
Nano finishes
Coating the surface of textiles with Nano particles is an approach to the production of highly
active surfaces to have UV blocking properties. Zinc oxide {ZnO} Nano particles embedded in
polymer structure like soluble starch are a good example of functional nanostructures with
potential for applications such as UV. Metal oxides like ZnO as UV blocker are more stable as
compared to organic UV blocking agents. Hence Nano ZnO will enhance the UV blocking
property due to their increase surface area and intense absorption in the UV region.
Nanotechnology - structures sized between 1 to 100 nm in at least one dimension, ZnO, TiO2
- absorb the UV radiation. ZnO, TiO2 - non-toxic, compatible with human skin, chemically
stable under both high temp. and UVR, easily available, High surface-to-volume ratio - High
surface area and high surface energy - bound to the surface of the fibres by van der Waals
forces - wash fastness.
Procedure
Procedure of UV absorber

 At first, cotton sample is washed by 5gm/l soap at 90c for 20 min.

 Then Nano particles ZnO is applied into both sides of fabrics and treated at 100° c for
2.5 hr.
 Then again washed by soap 4gm/l and dried horizontally.
The main limitations of UV absorber are that they cannot be applied in a single bath along
with other finishing agents.
UV absorbers have the same need for wash fastness and light fastness as dyestuffs.
Application of fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs)
FWAs or Optical brightening agents are applied to fabrics during laundering to enhance the
whiteness of textiles by inducing fluorescent by UV excitation and visible blue emission. Most
FWAs have excitation maxima in range of 340-400 nm and hence have been known to
improve the UPF of textiles.
OBA can improve the UPF of cotton and cotton blends, but not of fabrics that are 100
polyester or nylon. Limitation of OBA is that they mostly absorb in the UVA part of the day
light spectrum but have a weak absorption in the UV absorption around 308 nm which plays
an important role in skin disease.
 TECHNIQUES FOR QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENT OF UVR
TRANSMISSION
In vivo or Human Testing
In this technique, rectangular pieces of fabric are typically fastened to the skin and the MED
of the protected and unprotected skin is assessed to give an SPF. With human volunteers, use
of the sun as the UV source is impracticable to test the UPF of fabrics. Generally, xenon arc
solar simulators are used, with filters to absorb wavelengths below 290 nm and to reduce
visible and infrared radiation. Based on the skin prototype, MED is determined using
incremental UV-B doses on the upper back of a subject and is read after 24 hours.
MED is defined as the minimum quantity of radiant energy required to produce first
detectable reddening of the skin, 24 hours after exposure.
Advantage: The main advantage of the in vivo method is that it gives the direct response of
the human body UVR and thus is a reliable check for results measured by optical techniques.
Disadvantages: Cost and impracticability are limitations. It is difficult to carry out as a standard
test method because of the use of human subjects and it is not as precise as the optical
measurement techniques because of the subjective determination of when erythema is
present.
In Vitro
In Vitro There are two in vitro quantitative measurement techniques to test UVR transmission
through textiles or measure UPF.

 Radiometric measurements where the total transmission of UVR through a fabric is

measured using a real or simulated solar spectrum.
Advantage: It uses a simple detector instead of human test subject.

 Spectrophotometric measurements where the transmission of UVR through a fabric is

measured as a function of wavelength from which UPF is then calculated.
Advantage: Spectrophotometry is an accurate and reproducible test method for determining
UPF, particularly for samples with UPFs below 50.
For both radiometry and spectrophotometry, the primary requirement is an ultraviolet
radiation source that includes both the UVA and UVB radiation. Filters are placed next to the
test specimen to prevent the effects of fluorescence reaching the integrating sphere. Total
diffuse radiation transmitted through fabric is measured by both techniques because it
simulates radiation hitting the skin beneath the textile in a real-life scenario.
 UPF TEST STANDARDS FOR TEXTILES
Several organisations around the world have developed or have proposed performance
standards for UV protection fabrics. These organisations and their standards are summarised
in:
Australian/New Zealand Standard
• AS/NZS 4399:1996 “Sun protective clothing - Evaluation and classification”
First UPF measurement/classification standard
Solar spectrum of Melbourne, Australia
Measurement in new, dry and unstretched state
European Standard
• EN 13758-1 “Textiles. Solar UV protective properties. Part 1: Method of test for apparel
fabrics”
It refers only to apparel fabrics
Measurement in new, dry and unstretched state
Same measurement conditions of AS/NZS 4399, but solar spectrum of Albuquerque
Part 2 specifies the requirements for marking clothing if they respect strict requirements (e.g.
UPF >40 some design requirements)
USA Standard
• AATCC Test Method 183-2014 “Transmittance or Blocking of Erythemally Weighted
Ultraviolet Radiation through Fabrics”
Same measurement conditions of EN 13758-1
Determination of UPF and calculation of the "percent blocking UV-A and percent blocking UV-
B" expressed as percentages
Application
Growing awareness of health and hygiene has increased the demand for UV protective
textiles.
UV protection textiles include various apparels, accessories, such as hats, shoes, shirts,
blouses, T-shirts, swimwear, beachwear, sportswear, and the like industrial fabrics designed
for awnings, canopies, tents and blinds may also benefit from a UV protective treatment.
 BIBLOGRAPHY
 www.fibre2fashion.com
 www.researchgate.net
 iopscience.iop.org
 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 www.indiantextilejournal.com
 www.academia.edu
 www.european-coatings.com
 www.nyacol.com
 link.springer.com
 textilelearner.blogspot.com