A study of plasma-induced ozone treatment on the colour fading of dyed cotton

Colour fading treatment of coloured textile products is a hot topic due to its commercial importance. Conventional colour fading technologies involve the use of chemicals which may cause pollution problems and also the evenness of the colour fading effect is difficult to control. As a result, plasma-induced ozone treatment is applied for colour modification and colour fading effect since it is an environment-friendly process that does not generate chemical effluents. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of plasma-induced ozone treatment on the colour fading behaviour of reactive dyed cotton fabric. In this study, a cotton fabric was dyed with yellow colour and was then subjected to plasma-induced ozone treatment under different treatment conditions. The colour fading behaviour of the treated fabric was evaluated by instrumental assessment using spectrophotometer and it was found that the colour fading effect was controllable with proper selection of treatment parameters. In addition, a practical analysis was conducted with cotton denim and the results revealed that the plasma-induced ozone treatment could reduce the processing steps and cost when compared with conventional colour fading treatment.