Colored textile

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Taiwan Application Serial Number 98133444, filed October 01, 2009, which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Field of Invention

The present disclosure relates to a color textile. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a color textile having a layer of metal oxide.

Description of Related Art

Textiles are important in human life since they have many applications in clothes, ornaments, and curtain or decorations of buildings, for example. Textiles need color(s) because it provides a function of decorating.

General color textiles exhibit a variety of colors by dyeing the textiles with dyes. Alternatively, pigments are added into fibers so as to allow the fibers to exhibit colors. However, the waste water produced in the dyeing process is difficult to treat, and inevitably lead to environmental problems such as pollution.

A color textile without pigments or dyes therein has been disclosed in the prior art. The color textile in the prior art may exhibit a golden color by forming a layer of metal nitride such as titanium nitride on a textile through sputtering. However, this technology may only be used to generate yellow hue since the metal nitride itself usually has a yellow color, and thereby is difficult to exhibit other colors or simultaneously exhibit multiple colors in a textile.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a color textile, which comprises a textile substrate, a titanium layer and a layer of transparent metal oxide. The titanium layer is disposed on the textile substrate, and the layer of transparent metal oxide is disposed on the titanium layer. The color textile may exhibit different colors by adjusting the thickness of transparent metal oxide.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the layer of transparent metal oxide is made of indium tin oxide and has a thickness of about 100 nm to about 300 nm. In one example, the thickness of the indium tin oxide is about 200 nm to about 240 nm, whereby the color textile exhibits an appearance of a blue hue under a normal ambient light. In another example, the thickness of the indium tin oxide is about 220 nm to about 260 nm, whereby the color textile exhibits an appearance having two hues, including yellow hue and purple hue, under a normal ambient light. In still another example, the thickness of the indium tin oxide is about 250 nm to about 290 nm, whereby the color textile exhibits an appearance having three hues, including yellow, purple and blue hues, under a normal ambient light.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the layer of transparent metal oxide is made of zinc oxide and has a thickness of about 70 nm to about 1000 nm. In one example, the thickness of the zinc oxide is about 70 nm to about 90 nm, whereby the color textile exhibits an appearance of a blue hue under a normal ambient light. In another example, the thickness of the zinc oxide is about 230 nm to about 270 nm, whereby the color textile exhibits an appearance having three hues, including blue, yellow and purple hues, under a normal ambient light. In still another example, the thickness of the zinc oxide is about 500 nm to about 1000 nm, whereby the color textile exhibits an appearance having five hues, including blue, green, yellow, purple and red hues, under a normal ambient light.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the color textile further comprises a transparent polymeric layer disposed on the layer of transparent metal oxide for protecting the transparent metal oxide and the titanium layer. In one example, the transparent polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyurethane, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene and polypropylene.

In the present disclosure, the textile substrate without a pigment or a dye therein may exhibit one or more color, and thereby the pollution problems caused by dyeing the textile substrate may be prevented. Furthermore, the color textile according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may shelter the ultraviolet ray.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:

• Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a color textile according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; and
• Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a color textile according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a color textile 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Fig. 1, the color textile 100 comprises a textile substrate 110, a titanium layer 120 ad a layer of transparent metal oxide 130.

The textile substrate 110 may be formed by any weaving method, and may be composed of yarns having any cross-section. For example, the textile substrate 110 may be, but is not limited to, a knit fabric, non-woven fabric or woven fabric such as a plain fabric, twilled fabric or Satin weave fabric,. Although the cross-section of a yarn depicted in Fig. 1 has a circular shape, the cross-section of a yarn may have a circular, triangle, or other shapes.

The titanium (Ti) layer 120 for reflecting an incident light is disposed on the textile substrate 110. The method of forming the titanium layer 120 is not limited so long as the textile substrate 110 would not be damaged or eroded during the formation of the titanium layer 120. For example, the titanium layer 120 may be formed by the physical vapor deposition known in the art. In one example, the titanium layer 120 is deposited on the textile substrate 110 by a sputtering process in an argon environment with a DC source of 1KV - 2KV. In one example, the thickness of the titanium layer 120 is about 100 nm to about 300 nm.

The layer of transparent metal oxide 130 is disposed on the titanium layer 120. The layer of transparent metal oxide 130 may be a layer of indium tin oxide (ITO), zinc oxide (ZnO) or other transparent metal oxide.

The method of forming the layer of indium tin oxide is not limited. For example, the indium tin oxide may be deposited on the titanium layer 120 by a sputtering process known in the art. The thickness of the layer of indium tin oxide may be about 100 nm to about 300 nm.

In one example, the layer of indium tin oxide has a thickness of about 200 nm to about 240 nm, and the color textile 100 substantially exhibits a color of blue hue under a normal ambient light. The color(s) exhibited by the color textile 100 depends on the thickness of the indium tin oxide and the relative position between an observer and the color textile 100. When the thickness of the indium tin oxide is changed, the blue color of the color textile 100 may change accordingly. In addition, when the observer views the color textile 100 at a different viewing angle, the blue color of the color textile 100 may also change accordingly. While the thickness of indium tin oxide is in the range of about 200 nm to about 240 nm, the color textile 100 substantially exhibits a color of blue hue. However, at certain thickness range of the indium tin oxide, the color of blue hue may include, but is not limited to, purplish blue and cyan. Furthermore, in the present disclosure, the "normal ambient light" refers to a general or normal light that exists in human life, such as sunlight or white light used to illuminate a room (for example, white fluorescent light).

In another example, the thickness of the indium tin oxide is about 220 nm to about 260 nm, and the color textile 100 exhibits an appearance having two hues simultaneously, including yellow hue and purple hue, under the normal ambient light. That is, a portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of yellow hue and another portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of purple hue. As mentioned above, the exhibited color of the color textile 100 depends on the thickness of the indium tin oxide and the relative position between an observer and the color textile 100. When the relative position between the observer and the color textile 100 changes, the colors of the color textile 100 and the relative position between the two color regions (i.e. yellow region and purple region) change accordingly. At certain thickness range of the indium tin oxide, the color of purple hue may include purplish blue and purplish red. In the present disclosure, one color may belong to two hues. For example, when the thickness of the indium tin oxide is about 230 nm, the color textile 100 exhibits a color of purplish blue, which may belong to a purple hue or a blue hue.

In another example, the thickness of the indium tin oxide has a thickness of about 250 nm to about 290 nm, and the color textile 100 exhibits an appearance having three hues simultaneously, including yellow hue, purple hue and blue hue, under the normal ambient light. That is, a first portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of yellow hue, and a second portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of purple hue, and a third portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of blue hue. In one example, when the observer views the color textile 100 at a viewing angle that is substantially normal to the color textile 100, the region of the color textile 100 which is substantially normal to the observer exhibits a color of purple hue. Simultaneously, a color of blue hue may also be observed at a region adjacent to and out of the purple region, and a color of yellow hue may be observed at a region adjacent to and out of the blue region. It is to be noted that the present disclosure is not limited on the above mentioned arrangement of color regions, since when the relative position between the observer and the color textile 100 is changed, the colors of the color textile 100 and the relative position between the three color regions may change as well.

In another embodiment, the layer of transparent metal oxide 130 is a zinc oxide layer. The method of forming the zinc oxide layer is not limited. For example, the zinc oxide may be formed by a sputtering process using a zinc oxide target in an argon environment. Alternatively, the zinc oxide may be formed by a sputtering process using a zinc target in an oxygen containing environment. The thickness of the zinc oxide may be about 70 nm to about 1000 nm.

In one example, the layer of zinc oxide has a thickness of about 70 nm to about 90 nm, and the color textile 100 substantially exhibits a color of blue hue under a normal ambient light. The color(s) exhibited by the color textile 100 depends on the thickness of zinc oxide and the relative position between an observer and the color textile 100. When the thickness of the zinc oxide changes, the blue color of the color textile 100 may change accordingly. In addition, when the observer views the color textile 100 at a different viewing angle, the blue color of the color textile 100 may also change accordingly.

In another example, the thickness of the zinc oxide has a thickness of about 230 nm to about 270 nm, and the color textile 100 exhibits an appearance having three hues simultaneously, including blue hue, yellow hue and purple hue, under the normal ambient light. That is, a first portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of blue hue, a second portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of yellow hue, and a third portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of purple hue. As mentioned above, the color exhibited by the color textile 100 depends on the thickness of the zinc oxide and the relative position between the observer and the color textile 100. When the relative position between the observer and the color textile 100 is changed, the colors of the color textile 100 and the relative position between the color regions may change as well.

In another example, the thickness of the zinc oxide has a thickness of about 500 nm to about 1000 nm, and the color textile 100 exhibits an appearance having five hues simultaneously, including blue hue, green hue, yellow hue, purple hue and red hue. That is, a first portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of blue hue, a second portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of green hue, a third portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of yellow hue, a fourth portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of purple hue, and a fifth portion of the color textile 100 exhibits a color of red hue. In this example, since the color textile 100 exhibits as many as five hues, other color such as orange, cyan or violet ash may possibly be observed between two color regions. When the relative position between the observer and the color textile 100 is changed, the colors of the color textile 100 and the relative position between the color regions may change as well.

According to the above embodiments, the material and thickness of the transparent metal oxide 130 considerably affects the color of the color textile 100. The mechanism of the color textile 100 exhibiting multiple colors may possibly due to thin-film interference phenomena occurs when the ambient light transmits into the transparent metal oxide 130 and is reflected back to the surrounding by the titanium layer 120. A destructive interference may occure at some wavelengths of the incident light while a constructive interference occurs at other wavelengths, and thereby generating visible colors.

In the above mentioned optical path, the titanium layer 120 functions a reflecting layer to reflect the ambient light. In one comparative example, a silver layer as a reflecting layer is employed to replace the titanium layer 120. However, the adhesion between the sliver layer and the textile substrate is weak and result in peeling off.

In another comparative example, a metal nitride is used to replace the transparent metal oxide 130. However, the metal nitride such as titanium nitride itself has a yellow color. As a result, the textile having a metal nitride thereon is difficult to exhibit multiple colors.

Furthermore, the color textile 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a function of sheltering ultraviolet (UV) ray. Table 1 shows the experimental results of sheltering UV ray. The sheltering ratios of UVB and UVA of a textile substrate, without the inclusion of titanium (Ti) and ITO layers therein, are 88.7% and 67.9%, respectively. In contrast, the color textile 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may shelter 99% of UV (including UVA and UVB) when the titanium layer has a thickness of over 100 nm.

textile substrate

ITO / Ti / textile substrate

ZnO / Ti / textile substrate

UVB

88.7 %

99.4 %

99.5 %

UVA

67.9 %

99.0 %

99.1 %

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a color textile according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Fig. 2, the color textile 200 comprises a textile substrate 210, a titanium layer 220, a layer of transparent metal oxide 230 and a transparent polymeric layer 240. The materials and features of the textile substrate 210, titanium layer 220 and transparent metal oxide 230 may be same as those described in the color textile 100 depicted in Fig. 1.

The transparent polymeric layer 240 is disposed on the transparent metal oxide 230 so as to prevent the titanium layer 220 and the layer of transparent metal oxide 230 from peeling off from the textile substrate 210 caused by friction and external force. In one example, the transparent polymeric layer 240 is made of polyurethane (PU). In other examples, the transparent polymeric layer 240 may be a layer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP). In one example, the thickness of the transparent polymer 240 is about 0.3 p m to about 2 p m. If the transparent polymeric layer 240 is too thin, it may not offer a desirable protection. If the transparent polymeric layer 240 is too thick, it would influence the color of the color textile 200. In one example, the thickness of the transparent polymer 240 is about 0.5µ m to about 1 µ m.

The transparent polymeric layer 240 formed on the layer of transparent metal oxide 230 may effectively protect the titanium layer 220 and the transparent metal oxide 230. For instance, after washing the color textile 200 in water for 10 times, the titanium layer 220 or transparent metal oxide 230 of the color textile 200, having the protection of the transparent polymeric layer 240, remains intack and is not peeled off by washing. However, the titanium layer or transparent metal oxide of a color textile, which is short of the transparent polymeric layer 240, may be peeled off easily after only 5 times of washing. Therefore, It implies that the layer of transparent polymeric layer 240 formed on the transparent metal oxide 230 may further improve the durability and weather resistance of the color textile 200.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.