[nanoPost] Gold Nanoparticles as Colourants and Functional Entities in High Fashion Textiles

University New Zealand

Gold occupies a premier position in the world economy and society representing high value and quality. In monetary and jewellery applications it is used in the traditional yellow coloured bulk metallic form. However, as the particle size of gold is reduced to the colloidal and nanosize range, up to a few tens of nanometres, strong visible absorptions take place giving rise to a variety of colours depending on the actual size and shape of the nanoparticles. T

he colour is due to the physical phenomenon of the surface plasmon resonance absorption of light. Gold nanoparticles about 2-5nm in size are red. As the nanoparticle size increases or agglomerates form, the colour shifts through orange to yellow to violet where the nanoparticles are about 50-70nm in size.

This opens up an exciting opportunity to utilize gold nanoparticles as stable colourants on fabrics, particularly wool in high quality fashion garments thereby linking the inherent high prestige status of gold with quality and high value fashion. Gold nanoparticle colourants have the advantage that they cannot fade or denature in light, as traditional organic dyes can. They can also exhibit anti-microbial and catalysis functionality.