Study of photoluminescence property on cellulosic fabric using multifunctional biomaterials riboflavin and its derivative Flavin mononucleotide

Flavins are ubiquitous in nature and participate in various biochemical reactions mainly in the form of coenzyme Flavin mononucleotide (FMN) or as precursor such as Riboflavin (RF). Both flavins, RF and FMN are multifunctional bio-based molecules yielding yellow coloration and exhibit photoluminescence, UV protection, and redox properties. The aim of the present research study was to investigate the diffusion method as a technique to obtain photoluminescent cellulosic fabric using multifunctional RF and FMN. The photoluminescent moiety RF and FMN exhibited three maximum absorbance peaks at about 270 nm, 370 nm and 446 nm in aqueous solution at pH 7. The solutions of RF and FMN with concentration 4% and 20% (owf) at pH 7 were prepared and used in diffusion method for cellulosic fabric dyeing. The study involved the determination of color performance and evaluation of luminescence property of the dyed fabric using UV-visible spectrophotometer and photoluminescence spectroscopy, respectively. Under monochromatic UV lamp exposure emitting at 370 nm, the dyed fabric showed an intense emission of greenish yellow color, which was later confirmed by the intense photoluminescence observed at a wavelength of about 570 nm. The study demonstrates the theoretical evaluation of quantum efficiency (phi) obtaining maximum phi value of 0.28. Higher color strength value and improved wash fastness were obtained by treatment with different biobased mordants such as tannic acid and citric acid as well as calcium chloride for both RF and FMN. Additionally, ultraviolet (UV) protection ability for both RF and FMN dyed fabric were determined and showed UPF factor of 50+ and 35 respectively. The work allowed us to explore the photoluminescence property of riboflavin and Flavin mononucleotide for its application in the field of textiles as a new scope of producing photoluminescent textile along with multifunctional properties such as coloration and UV protection.