NBT-Pluronic F-127 Hydrogels Printed on Flat Textiles as UV Radiation Sensors.

Elżbieta Sąsiadek,Marek Kozicki,Malwina Jaszczak,Joanna Skwarek

doi:10.3390/ma14123435

Abstract

This work reports on the surface-modified woven fabrics for use as UV radiation sensors. The cotton and polyamide fabrics were printed with radiochromic hydrogels using a screen-printing method. The hydrogels used as a printing paste were composed of water, poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(propylene oxide)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (Pluronic F-127) as a gel matrix and nitro blue tetrazolium chloride as a radiation-sensitive compound. The development of the hydrogels’ colour occurs after exposure to UV radiation and its intensity increases with increasing absorbed dose. The features of the NBT-Pluronic F-127 radiochromic hydrogels and the fabrics printed with the hydrogels were examined using UV-Vis and reflectance spectrophotometry as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of NBT concentration and UV radiation type (UVA, UVB, UVC) on dose responses of the hydrogels and printed fabrics were also examined. The results obtained reveal that the fabrics printed with NBT-Pluronic F-127 hydrogels can be potentially useful as UV radiation sensors.

Highlights

The negative effects of UV radiation on humans, in particular on the skin and eyes [1,2], were the driving force for research on systems for monitoring the amount of absorbed UV doses
The color intensity of all samples increased with an increase in the absorbed dose, which is reflected in the absorbance spectra presented (Figure 2). This is related to the formation of the formazans upon radiation-induced reduction of nitro blue tetrazolium chloride (NBT) tetrazolium salt [32]
10a) to be printed on the textile with a radiochromic hydrogel, which may be used as a used as a disposable element of protective clothing for workers exposed to UV radiation disposable element of protective clothing for workers exposed to UV radiation (Figure (Figure 10e)

Summary

Introduction

The negative effects of UV radiation on humans, in particular on the skin and eyes [1,2], were the driving force for research on systems for monitoring the amount of absorbed UV doses. Many sensors and dosimeters for UV monitoring have been elaborated, such as photodiodes and actinometers [3], liquid crystal mixtures, solutions of photoluminescent dyes [4,5] and inorganic materials [6,7,8,9,10] These systems are most often placed at an appropriate distance from the source of UV radiation and after the agreed time, the changes to the dosimeters are read. Chemical dosimeters or sensors are used, which show greater accuracy and measurement stability compared to biological ones [14] Examples of such systems are 2D film dosimeters and sensors in the form of polymer films containing radiation-sensitive compounds such as tetrazolium salts [15,16], triphenylmethane dyes [17] or polydiacetylenes [16]. These can be used to create 2D textile dosimeters for UV radiation measurements [24]

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Conclusion