The action of a benzotriazole light stabilizer in wool. I. A diffuse reflectance analysis of UV screening

A procedure based on diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was developed to determine the UV screening effect of a benzotriazole light stabilizer in wool fabric. Expressions that enable the protective effect of the stabilizer to be calculated directly from reflectance data were derived. The dependence of the screening effect on additive concentration was deduced from measurements of fabric reflectivity in the wavelength range of 300–400 nm. Two reflectometers with quite different optical geometries were used to measure the reflectance spectra and the merits of the two systems are discussed. A theoretical expression for the optical screening phenomenon in highly scattering materials was evaluated for substrates of different reflectivity and the general implications of this relationship are considered.