Color fading of reactive-dyed cotton using UV-assisted ozonation

Fashion trends have promoted the use of oxidants in the textile sector recently. Conventionally, oxidants require an aqueous bath, with ozone; the worn style or faded effect on textile products could be achieved more ecologically. UV-assisted ozonation has been studied or applied to certain areas but not fading reactive-dyed textiles. In this study, the UV-assisted ozonation on color-fading reactive-dyed cotton was investigated. The effect of UV on ozone fading effect and the comparison of UV-assisted ozonation with conventional color-fading processes (hydrogen peroxide and chlorine) were carried out in terms of fading efficiency, negative impacts on fabrics’ mechanical properties, namely, tensile strength and elongation, tearing strength and abrasion resistance, and surface microstructure. It is found that UV strengthens the fading effect (up to 2.7 times) of ozonation with slight loss of cottons’ mechanical properties. UV-assisted ozonation is not only more effective than conventional fading processes in the respect of fading efficiency but also less negatively influenced fabrics mechanical properties. Additionally, it comparatively requires far less the use of water and power, so we may conclude that it proposed an excellent potential to alternate the conventional processes.