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.