Effect of color substrate in structurally colored PES fabrics

Abstract

Textile Industry is one of the most pollutant industries in world, thus serious efforts are required to decrease its chemical and water demand, especially during dyeing processes. [1] One strategy to achieve this is the use of photonic crystals (PCs), where color is produced by interactions between light and highly organized nanostructures, called structural coloration. [2] Structural coloration is a more ecological method to add color to fabrics due to its low water consumption, as water is only needed in the synthesis of the photonic crystals. Also, PCs produce brilliant and iridescent colors that are not possible to obtain with conventional dyeing processes. [3] Therefore, in this work an alternative to conventional dyeing is presented, where PCs are applied onto dyed polyester fabrics through a dip-drawing method, and color properties are analyzed.