Diffuse reflectance behavior of the printed cotton/nylon blend fabrics treated with zirconium and cerium dioxide and citric acid in near- and short-wave IR radiation spectral ranges

Near- and short-wave IR emission spectra of printed cotton/nylon blend fabrics coated with inorganic compounds in order to tune their diffuse reflectance behavior to the ones with woodland and desert backgrounds are investigated. In this regard, cotton/nylon blend fabrics printed with a four-color digital pattern were used as the substrate, and different concentrations of zirconium and cerium dioxide (ZrO₂ and CeO₂) with and without citric acid as a cross-linker were loaded on these fabrics using the pad-dry-cure method. The diffuse reflectance of the coated fabrics with various concentrations of nanoparticles and a cross-linker was first measured by near-infrared (NIR) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Then, fabrics with an optimum concentration of nanoparticles and appropriate reflectivity profiles similar to woodland and desert were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), washing, and rubbing fastness properties. In general, NIR and short-wave infrared (SWIR) reflectance of fabrics coated with ZrO₂ and CeO₂ nanoparticles in range of 1% to 1.5% (w/v [%]) was suitable for matching with different environments. According to the findings obtained from the durability test, it was concluded that the washing fastness of the treated fabrics with CeO₂ nanoparticles was excellent in both environments. FE-SEM images of the treated fabrics containing ZrO₂ and CeO₂ indicated that the presence of nanoparticles on the surface of fabrics in woodland patterns was greater than the desert ones. However, the coated fabrics with CeO₂ and citric acid in the woodland pattern have shown better dispersion with a mean particle size of 30 to 60 nm.