Textiles as UV Protection

With the depletion of ozone layer, more and more people are realizing the health threat posed by the sun. Textiles can provide protection from ultraviolet rays to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the type and construction of the fabric. When UV rays impinge on a textile material, the radiation can be completely reflected, dispersed or absorbed.

Selection of textile fiber is significant in providing the protection. The protection factor of greige cotton is considerably higher than bleached cotton, because the natural pigments, pectins and waxes provide UV absorption. Polyamide fibers are quite permeable to UV rays, whereas polyester fibers posses strong absorption. Artificial fibers can be produced with good protection against sun rays by simply adding titanium dioxide, which in integrated in polyester and poly-acrylic fibers. Titanium dioxide provides excellent UV protection and also provides some cooling effect. The protection can be further enhanced by using cationic dyes.

Fabric construction also plays an important role in engineering textile products for UV absorption. Higher density of fabric, reduces the UV penetration. So by carefully selecting the cover factor of the fabric, the protection can be provided. Similarly high lustrous fibers reflects most of the rays back to atmosphere.

There are special coating available to absorb the rays. They are titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, aluminum silicate, benzo-triazole, hydrobenzophenone, phenyltriazine, etc. The textile material can be coated with the above mentioned to provide additional protection. Also by selecting the depth of color, the textile material can be provided with additional protection.
To brief, the UV protection of a textile material is influenced by the following factor;

  • Fiber type
  • Yarn construction
  • Fabric construction
  • Fabric color
  • Fabric finish
  • Fabric surface characteristics like luster

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