Photoluminescent textiles by application of mushroom extract

Abstract

Photoluminescent textiles emit visible light under exposure to non-visible UV light. By this, interesting light effects useful for design application in clothing and home textiles can be realized. For realization of photoluminescent textiles usually synthetic fluorescent dyes are applied. In contrast to this conventional approach, the current paper reports on the realization of photoluminescent textiles by using aqueous extracts of dried mushrooms. This approach offers the preparation of bio-based luminescent textile materials. In this work mushrooms from the following two fungi are selected – Chanterelle ( Cantharellus cibarius ) and Pioppino ( Agrocybe aegerita, syn. Cyclocybe cylindracea ). Especially the application of Pioppino extract on wool and cotton lead to an enhanced fluorescence emission of green. The application of copper or iron mordant decrease the fluorescence activity reached by the Pioppino extract. Nevertheless, the current study is a well proof-of-concept for bio-based fluorescent functionalization of textiles and can be seen as a starting point for further development of photoluminescent textile materials.