Effects of nanoTiO2-SiO2 on the hydrophilicity/dyeability of polyester fabric and photostability of disperse dyes under UV irradiation

The aim of the presented work was to study the effects of TiO2-SiO2 nanoparticles on the hydrophilicity as well as colouration ability of polyester fabric during high-temperature disperse dyeing. Various analytical techniques were employed to characterize three TiO2-SiO2 dispersions with different SiO2 weight percent. In addition, one-bath exhaustion procedure was accomplished by combining TiO2 dispersions and three disperse dyes in two concentrations, respectively. Finally, the dyed/nano-upgraded samples were subjected to artificial UV light with the intention of establishing any undesired photo-fading behaviour of applied dyes on account of TiO2 presence. The results provided evidence of enhanced wettability at low SiO2 content, and on the other hand, pale depth of shade when the nanoTiO2-hybrides were attended, regarding the type of dye and its concentration. Moreover, UV irradiation significantly influenced the hue, brightness, chroma, and colour strength, although the higher SiO2 amount suppressed the photocatalytic activity of nanoTiO2 and thus, diminished the oxidative dye-fading.