From Smart Materials to Chromic
Textiles
Tawfik A. Khattab and Meram S. Abdelrahman
Abstract This chapter presents a selective overview of chromic materials and their
application on technical textiles. Most significant chromic materials could be photochromic, halochromic, thermochromic and electrochromic, with the ability to
change color depending on the type of the external stimulus. An overview of the major
chromic materials and related textile applications is discussed to reflect the progress
and significance through ongoing research of high performance textiles. This chapter
wraps up with future trends on the development of industrial merchandise from
chromic technical clothing.
Keywords Chromism · Colorant · Textile · Coloration · Finish
1 Introduction
Chromic compounds are defined as smart materials that exhibit a distinctive color
change upon exposure to one or more external stimuli, particularly when this color
variation is controllable and reversible [1–3]. In recent decades, there are a broad
range of chromic compounds that have been explored to introduce various textile and
non-textile commercial products. Nowadays, chromic compounds are the most commonly applied materials in high-technology non-textile purposes, such as thermometry, biomedicine, electronics and ophthalmic applications [4–8]. Those chromic
colorants have not been produced mainly for textile applications. However, there
has been a rising interest for their utilization in the production of technical textiles [9, 10]. This chapter presents an overview on the different chemical classes
of chromic colorants. Scientific fundamentals of chromic materials and their commercial products particularly technical textiles are discussed. We deal with the four
major chromic materials which have been mostly investigated for textile purposes
including photochromic (light induced color shift), halochromic (pH induced color
T. A. Khattab (B) · M. S. Abdelrahman
Dyeing, Printing and Auxiliaries Department, Textile Industries Research Division, National
Research Centre, Cairo 12622, Egypt
e-mail: tkhattab@kent.edu
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
M. Shahid and R. Adivarekar (eds.), Advances in Functional Finishing of Textiles, Textile
Science and Clothing Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3669-4_11
257
Textiles
Tawfik A. Khattab and Meram S. Abdelrahman
Abstract This chapter presents a selective overview of chromic materials and their
application on technical textiles. Most significant chromic materials could be photochromic, halochromic, thermochromic and electrochromic, with the ability to
change color depending on the type of the external stimulus. An overview of the major
chromic materials and related textile applications is discussed to reflect the progress
and significance through ongoing research of high performance textiles. This chapter
wraps up with future trends on the development of industrial merchandise from
chromic technical clothing.
Keywords Chromism · Colorant · Textile · Coloration · Finish
1 Introduction
Chromic compounds are defined as smart materials that exhibit a distinctive color
change upon exposure to one or more external stimuli, particularly when this color
variation is controllable and reversible [1–3]. In recent decades, there are a broad
range of chromic compounds that have been explored to introduce various textile and
non-textile commercial products. Nowadays, chromic compounds are the most commonly applied materials in high-technology non-textile purposes, such as thermometry, biomedicine, electronics and ophthalmic applications [4–8]. Those chromic
colorants have not been produced mainly for textile applications. However, there
has been a rising interest for their utilization in the production of technical textiles [9, 10]. This chapter presents an overview on the different chemical classes
of chromic colorants. Scientific fundamentals of chromic materials and their commercial products particularly technical textiles are discussed. We deal with the four
major chromic materials which have been mostly investigated for textile purposes
including photochromic (light induced color shift), halochromic (pH induced color
T. A. Khattab (B) · M. S. Abdelrahman
Dyeing, Printing and Auxiliaries Department, Textile Industries Research Division, National
Research Centre, Cairo 12622, Egypt
e-mail: tkhattab@kent.edu
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
M. Shahid and R. Adivarekar (eds.), Advances in Functional Finishing of Textiles, Textile
Science and Clothing Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3669-4_11
257