Study on the Natural Indigo Dyeing and UV-Protection Performances for Cotton Fabrics

摘要

The protective property of clothing against solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has been the subject of considerable research for some time.However,not all natural and composite dyestuffs have provided the mentioned protective property.In this study,the cotton fabrics were dyed with natural indigo and the dyeing process was optimized.The ultraviolet protective property of the dyed fabrics was investigated.Experimental results indicate that natural indigo shows favorable dyeing performance on cotton and the fabrics dyed with natural dyes have good ultraviolet protective properties.They could absorb about 80% of the ultraviolet rays.It has been demonstrated that the UV-protective effect is strongly dependent on the absorption characteristics of natural indigo for UVR.