Ultra Violet Protection Finish
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
•Appropriate amount of sun bath promotes the circulation of
blood, invigorates the metabolism and improves resistance to
various pathogens.
•But, penetration of UVR into the top layer of the skin leads to
damage in the lower layer and produces premature ageing of
skin and other effects including roughening, blotches,
sagging, wrinkles, and basal cell cancer.
•Australia has high levels of solar UV radiation, mainly
because of its geographical position; New Zealand, USA,
Switzerland, Norway, Scotland, Britain and Scandinavian
countries also have high melanoma rates.
•Sunscreen lotions, clothing and shade structures provide
protection from the deleterious effects of ultraviolet radiations.
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
• The actual damage to human skin from UV radiation is
a function of the wavelength of the incident radiation
most damage done by radiation less than 300 nm.
• Therefore, to be useful in protecting the wearer from solar UV radiation,
textiles must demonstrate effectiveness in the 300–320 nm range.
• where Sλ is the source spectrum (Wm2 nm-1), Tλ is the transmittance, Aλ is the
action spectrum for measured response and Δλ is the bandwidth in nm.
• In the absence of UV filters, the loss in tensile strength appears to be higher in
the case of nylon (100% loss), followed by wool, cotton and polyester, with
approximately 23%, 34% and 44% respectively after 30 days of exposure.
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
Sun Protecting Factor (SPF)
• The SPF is the ratio of the potential erythemal effect (skin
reddening), to the actual erythemal effect transmitted
through the fabric by the radiation and can be calculated
from spectroscopic measurements.
• The larger the SPF, the more protective the fabric is to UV
radiation
• Typically, a fabric with an SPF of > 40 is considered to
provide excellent protection against UV radiation
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
• Since the most probable time for long-term solar
exposure is in the summer, the most likely candidates for
UV protective finishes are lightweight woven and knitted
fabrics intended for producing
» shirts,
» blouses,
» T-shirts,
» swimwear,
» beachwear,
» sportswear, and the like.
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
Mechanism of UV protection
• When radiation strikes a
fibre surface, it can be
•reflected,
•absorbed,
•transmitted
through the fibre or pass
between fibres
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
• The relative amounts of radiation reflected, absorbed or
transmitted depend on many factors, including the
1) fibre type,
2) fibre surface smoothness,
3) fabric cover factor (the fraction of the
4) surface area of the fabric covered by yarns) and
5) presence or absence of fibre delustrants,
6) dyes and UV absorbers.
• The effect of fibre type on the SPF of undyed fabrics of
similar construction is demonstrated
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
• Cotton and silk fibres offer little protection to UV radiation
since the radiation can pass through without being markedly
absorbed.
• Wool and polyester, on the other hand, have significant
higher SPFs since these fibres will absorb UV radiation.
• Nylon falls in between these extremes. One factor
influencing nylon and polyester absorbance is the presence
of the delustrant TiO2, a material that strongly absorbs UV
radiation
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
Theoretical UV protection
• If the fibres absorb all of • Using a SPF value of 50 as
the incident radiation, the goal,
• then the only source of • a fabric with a cover
transmitted rays is from factor of 0.98
the spacing between the • And composed of fibres
yarns. that absorb all of the non-
• By definition, the reflected UV radiation
theoretical maximum SPF • will provide its wearer
is the reciprocal of 1 with excellent protection
minus the cover factor. against solar UV radiation.
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
UV protection finishes
• The requirements for a material to be effective as a UV
protection finish include
• efficient absorption of UV radiation at 300–320 nm,
• quick transformation of the high UV energy into the
vibration energy in the absorber molecules
• and then
• into heat energy in the surroundings without photo
degradation.
• Further requirements are
• convenient application to textile fibres
• and lack of added colour for the treated fibre.
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
UV protection finishes
• By careful choice of substituent, molecules can be formed
that have
• the required absorbance of UV radiation,
• lack of added colour
• and the necessary affinity to fibres
• and fastness.
• In most cases, the UV absorber is applied with the dyes
during the dyeing process.
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
• UV absorbers are organic or inorganic colorless compounds
with very strong absorption in the UV range of 290 – 360nm.
• UV absorbers incorporated in to the fibers, convert
electronic excitation energy in to thermal energy. They
function as radical scavengers and oxygen scavengers.
• The high energy short wave UVR excites the UV absorber
to a high energy absorbed, which may then be dissipated as
longer wave radiation.
• Organic UV absorbers are mainly derivatives of o-hydroxy
benzophenones, o-hydroxy phenyl triazines, o-hydroxy
phenyl hydrazines
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
Evaluation of UV protection finishes
• Several organisations around the world have developed or
have proposed performance standards for UV protection
fabrics.
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
• UV absorbers have the same need for wash fastness and light fastness
as dyestuffs. Laundering trials should be carried out with all new
formulations to confirm that the claimed UV protection is actually active
during the life of the garment.
• One concern is specific to the use of UV absorbers in combination with
optical brightening agents (OBA). These brightening agents function by
absorbing UV radiation and re-emitting visible light. If a UV absorber is
also present in the fibre, the brightening effect from the OBA can be
greatly diminished or even absent.
• Proper choice of an appropriate OBA can minimise this problem. In most
other cases combination with other finishes does not reduce the UV
protection.
• A two-step application is necessary if the pH values of the UV protection
finish bath and that of the other finishes are very different.
• The UV protection finish should be applied first. Problems may arise from
limited bath uptake after a repellent finish or after calendering
Rashmi Thakur, DFT NIFT Bengaluru
