Cool in the hot sun – Tong Cheng manages it all
Woollen
clothes that change colour in the sun – even under the strobe lights
at the disco – as well as providing protection from UV rays, now
there’s a fashion statement ready to be heard right around the world.
As the news spreads, it’s certain to give Deakin researchers their day in the sun – or under the spotlight, too, especially Tong Cheng, a PhD student at the Centre for Material and Fibre Innovation, who has developed for the first time a way of colouring wool with photochromic dye.
Photochromic products, which are incompatible with wool when applied by traditional dyeing methods, undergo a colour change when exposed to UV radiation.
Tong Cheng, under the supervision of Deakin’s Drs Tong Lin and Rex Brady, has created a polymer that holds the photochromic dye and is then applied to the surface of wool fibres without taking away any of the charm and comfort of wearing natural woollen garments.
“It is impossible to notice the difference between normal wool fabric and fabric coated with the polymer,” Tong Cheng said. “The fabric maintains its softness and drape and the colour is preserved when washed.
“We could soon be seeing woollen T-shirts that only reveal their patterns when worn outside or in a disco with black lights. Having patterns appear this way also opens up novel marketing and fashion opportunities.”
All up a brilliant innovation, according to Dr Rex Brady.
“Tong Cheng had to solve some very challenging technical issues to get to this stage,” he said.
“The special polymer contains a huge number of tiny pores for trapping the dye.
“Tong Cheng had to ensure that the pores in the polymer were just the right size - if they were too large, for example, the dye would seep out. It was also important that the polymer allowed the colour change for the dye to take place quickly.This she has achieved.”
An unexpected bonus with the polymer coating was its UV protection quality.
“We have found that the polymer absorbs harmful UV rays in sunlight,” Tong Cheng said. “When applied to wool, these polymers enhance the natural UV absorption of the fibre, further increasing the SPF (Sun Protection Factor) afforded by wool garments.
“Initial tests have shown these rays are almost totally blocked.”
Miss Cheng’s research has been funded by the China-Australia Wool Innovation Network (CAWIN) program — a partnership between Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) and Deakin University.
The significance of her work has been recognised with two recent awards - Materials Australia’s prestigious 2006 Borland Forum Award and the 2007 AWI/DWI Award for Excellence in Wool Science.