Supercritical CO2 dyeing of polyester fabric with photochromic dyes to fabricate UV sensing smart textiles

Abstract

Photochromic molecules are well-established colourants in the manufacturing of niche products, providing reversible colour change effects when irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light. The high material cost of such speciality dyes along with the general high carbon footprint and extensive water consumption of textile products necessitates resource-efficient production processes. The use of supercritical CO2 (scCO2) dyeing technique enables the economic production of textile high-end products, where a uniform through colouration is desired. This study investigates the potential application of two commercial photochromic dyes based on spirooxazine (Sea Green – SO-SG) and naphthopyran (Ruby Red – NP-RR) to polyester fabric using scCO2 dyeing technique and examines their photochromic behaviour. The dyeing was carried out at 120 °C and 25 MPa for 1 h. The photochromic performance was evaluated using a specially designed online colour measurement system capable of simultaneous UV irradiation and continuous measurement of photochromic colour change even after the shutdown of the UV source. The colour yields (K/S values), photoswitching rates and durability against washing were the main parameters examined. The results showed that scCO2 dyed photochromic polyester fabrics exhibited reversible colour changing properties upon UV exposure and removal. The samples dyed with SO-SG demonstrated a comparable degree of photo-colouration, lower background colour, faster colouration and decolouration speeds, but inferior wash fastness compared with NP-RR dyed samples. Particularly, the same class of dyes applied by scCO2 dyeing showed faster fading rates compared with conventionally dyed and screen printed samples. This study shows that scCO2 dyeing method is a potential alternative to develop uniformly coloured photochromic textiles providing excellent photochromic performance with additional economic and environmental benefits.