Textile products have been meeting human beings’ needs of being protected from cold, hot and was meeting the other natural events since the first day they were used. Throughout time, even if it seems that these needs are no longer the priority with the coming of concepts like fashion, textile products still protect us. It is possible to be visible in the dark with the photo-luminescent materials used in military clothes, sportswear, baby clothes and accessories, hats, uniforms, food and hand bandages, and several other products like bags. Photoluminescent materials have an important role nowadays in terms of textile industry. The main reason is that these materials have high added value and provide easiness for the human life.
Photoluminescent materials are applied on textile products in the form of fiber, yarn and fabric as textile dye and printing dye with coating and lamination techniques. In result to apply Photoluminescent materials on a textile surface with dyeing, printing, coating or lamination method, the fabrics hardness increase and consequently the corrosion due to use increase and visibility reduces due to washing procedure. Thus, in recent years, Photoluminescent materials are mixed with polymers used in the production of textile fibers and the visibility feature is obtained after fiber production.
Luminescent Clothes
Institutions conducting studies in technical textiles are conduction serious studies on durable and wearable Photoluminescent material’s production. Thanks to the system developed as a result of the studies conducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) located in USA, it was found out that as most phosphor and luminescent materials are consisted of a transparent micro fundamental structure and an activator, hardness is generated due to its distribution with a certain amount within the fundamental structure. By including supporting activators, hardness generated during lamination can be eliminated.
The President of MIT Lincoln Laboratory Textile Researches, Mr.Eric Sowensen states that this new technique, which is still in the lab, will direct the future of fashion and consequently “boring and unluminescent” clothes will be history. Sowensen also mentioned that these products are already used in decoration, defense industry and transportation in common and in recent years luminescent materials have been used in home textile only for visual effect and in the future, everyone will “shine”.
