Search

Nowadays, manufacturing of ultraviolet (UV) protective textiles is quite interesting for the outdoor workers to protect their bodies from harmful radiation. Herein, for the first time, durable UV-protective cotton textiles were produced by modification with the mixed metal–Ce organic framework. Cotton was first interacted with 1,2,4-tricarboxybenzene-2,4-anhydride through benzylation reaction. The benzylated cotton (BTC–C = O@Cotton) was then reacted with two metal salts including Cerium salt to obtain Ce–M–BTC–C = O@Cotton. The estimated contents of Ce and the mixed metal within Ce–M–BTC–C = O@Cotton were 3.3% and 0.4%, respectively. The color of cotton was turned to bluish-green color, greenish-yellow color and reddish color after incorporation with Ce–Cu–BTC, Ce–Ni–BTC and Ce–Co–BTC, respectively. The all-modified fabrics exhibited UV-blocking character from good to excellent, depending on the inserted mixed metal. The measured UV-protection factor (UPF) was 34.7 (very good) for Ce–Cu–BTC–C = O@Cotton, 43.1 (excellent) for Ce–Ni–BTC–C = O@Cotton, 26.4 (good) for Ce–Zn–BTC–C = O@Cotton, and 33.3 (very good) for Ce–Co–BTC–C = O@Cotton. After 5 washing cycles, Ce–Ni–BTC–C = O@Cotton and Ce–Co–BTC–C = O@Cotton showed good UV protection. The mechanical properties of cotton textiles were not significantly affected after modification with Ce–M–BTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene-based functional coatings for cotton textiles were realized through an easy dip-coating procedure. Cotton fabrics were coated with a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) layer and then protected with a very thin polyurethane (PU) layer that does not affect the flexibility and the hand of the pristine cotton. The application of the rGO coating induces electrical conductivity to the fabric and the application of the PU phase increases the durability of the coatings, that show very stable surface resistivity after 10 washing cycles performed at temperatures up to 40 °C. Furthermore, the rGO and rGO/PU coated fabrics show good comfort properties, increased thermal conductivity and breathability with respect to cotton. In particular, the realized coatings allow to confine the heat transfer in correspondence of a localized heating source, which is very interesting for thermal therapy applications. Finally, the rGO/PU coated fabrics present a piezoresistive behaviour characterized by very stable electrical response to applied stretching up to 50% deformation, high sensitivity especially at low deformations with gauge factor values up to 11.7 and fast response time down to 500 ms when stretched at 100 mm/min rate at 2.5% strain. Overall, the results demonstrate that rGO/PU coated fabrics are very promising wash-durable electrically conductive e-textiles with improved comfort, enhanced thermal conductivity for possible thermal therapy applications, and piezoresistive properties for sensing applications as human motion monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question addressed in this paper is whether cotton textiles mercerized with liquid ammonia (L-NH3) can be distinguished from NaOH mercerized cotton textiles with FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. In collaboration with a process-house, cotton textiles were treated with L-NH3, NaOH, neither or both. The treatment conditions were set to mimic commercial-scale operations. The samples were then analyzed with FTIR-ATR spectroscopy, and for comparison, also with powder X-ray diffraction. The analyses were aimed at detecting changes in the cellulose crystal lattice structure that result from the two mercerization processes. The measured spectra and diffractograms were evaluated both visually and with Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and the results show that with FTIR-ATR spectroscopy it was possible to differentiate between the untreated, L-NH3 mercerized and NaOH mercerized textiles, whereas with X-ray diffraction it was difficult to detect differences between the untreated and treated samples. The better performance of FTIR-ATR spectroscopy is attributed to the method being more sensitive to changes on sample surfaces, whereas X-ray diffraction results are more representative of the sample bulk. The samples were treated under conditions mimicking commercial-scale operations, which are optimized to maximize treatment speed. Hence, the mercerization induced changes are likely to be limited to sample surfaces and hence detectable with FTIR-ATR spectroscopy but not with X-ray diffraction. It is reported that Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy, another surface-limited analytical method, may also be employed for detection of mercerization type, but FTIR-ATR spectroscopy has the advantages of ease of operation and the devices are less expensive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing oily industrial waste water at room and high temperatures has become one of the most significant threats to the global ecosystem. Finding a suitable method for separating hot-oil/water pollution with an appropriate filter is highly necessary to effectively solve this problem. In this study, high-temperature oil/water separation was achieved using a silicon-modified textile (Si-cotton) as a filter, which was fabricated using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) solution as the precursor and through plasma polymerization. The plasma polymerization generated a uniform micro and nanoscale hierarchical structure on the Si-cotton surface. Furthermore, XPS and FT-IR analysis showed the lowering of the O/C ratio on the Si-cotton surface with respect to the pristine textile, and the presence of silicon on the Si-cotton surface after the plasma process. The results of these factors can be critical in making the final hydrophobic/oleophilic behaviour of the textile. More importantly, the Si-cotton membrane was tested for the separation process of hot oil/hot water mixture, which showed an acceptable efficiency even after fifteen separation cycles. The findings offered a two-step method, efficient and green, which was capable of working well even at a high temperature, to fabricate a flexible and scalable Si-cotton textile filter for reducing the necessity of additional and complicated cooling processes in the presence of high-temperature oil/water mixture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, several methods of hydrophobization of cotton fabrics using the thio-ene click reaction were compared. Durable, superhydrophobic textiles were obtained in an easy way. Various variants of functionalized silsesquioxanes were used for the hydrophobization of fabrics. The synthesis of bifunctional silsesquioxanes (RSiMe2O)4(ViSiMe2O)4Si8O12 and (RSiMe2O)4(R'SiMe2O)4Si8O12 were performed via hydrothiolation of silsesquioxane derivative (ViSiMe2O)8Si8O12. Alkoxysilyl, alkyl and fluoroalkyl moieties were introduced as functional groups. Samples were prepared using four methods, differing in the modification method and the number of stages. During the research, fabrics were modified via (a) the dip-coating process, (b) carrying out thiol-ene click reactions directly on the surface of the fabric and (c) using both of these methods. The hydrophobicity of the fabric was evaluated by measuring the Water contact angle (WCA). The obtained samples were also examined using infrared analysis (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Elemental analysis (SEM–EDS). All analyses were performed before and after the washing process in order to verify the stability of the performed modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart textiles have got increasing attention for potential application in personal thermal management, wearable human motion monitoring, and healthcare. However, it is still a challenge to prepare a multifunctional electronic textile with water-resistant, electro-thermal response, mechanical-sensitive performance, and antibacterial activities. Here, a multifunctional conductive cotton textile is fabricated by in-situ reduction silver nanoparticles(Ag NPs) on cotton fiber under the assistance of tannic acid, followed decorating with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). These obtained multifunctional textiles (cotton/TA/Ag NPs/PDMS textile) not only maintain the innate flexibility, and permeability characteristics of cotton textiles, but also exhibit rapid thermal response, outstanding long-time steady heating performance, and antifouling property. Furthermore, the cotton/TA/Ag NPs/PDMS textiles exhibit excellent strain sensing performance for potential human motions monitoring. Impressively, cotton/TA/Ag NPs/PDMS textiles show resistance to bacterial. Thus, this multifunctional cotton textile provides a new way for the study of the next generation of lightweight, portable, and wearable electronic textile devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the next generation battery, the lithium-sulfur battery with high theoretical specific capacity and energy density needs to overcome the low practical discharge capacity and the poor cycle performance for the poor conductivity of sulfur and the shuttle effect of polysulfide. In this study, a hierarchical micro-mesoporous carbon (HPC) is designed and synthesized as a sulfur host from the cotton textile with KOH activation at 700 °C to combine the advantages of these two structures, where mesoporous structure can improve the infiltration of electrolyte to act as fast ionic channel and micropores have an excellent ability of binding sulfur. The HPC showed an excellent high specific surface area (2835.47 m2 g−1) and a high pore volume (2.82 cm3 g−1), and the ratio of the mesoporous reaches 57.85%. The sulfur in HPC/S was uniformly distributed in the host structure and no surface crystallization was observed by TEM characterization. Assembled in the lithium-sulfur battery, the cathode mixed with HPC/S and conductive agent delivers an initial discharge capacity of 1577 mAh g−1 at 0.1C, and a reversible capacity of 434.5 mAh g−1 after 300 cycles at the current rate of 1C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Superhydrophobic coatings were successfully fabricated on cotton textiles through a simple one-step sol-gel process. A fluorinated copolymer (PHFA-MPS), as a precursor in the sol-gel reaction, was prepared by copolymerization of hexafluorobutyl methacrylate (HFA) and 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS) as monomers. Then, the fluoro-containing silica sols were formed by alkaline hydrolysis of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and PHFA-MPS solution in an ethanol solution, which was used to impart the cotton textiles with excellent superhydrophobicity via a facile dip-coating method. The effects of ammonium hydroxide solution (NH4OH) and PHFA-MPS concentration on the structure of the fluoro-containing silica sols, as well as the wetting behavior, surface morphology, and surface composition of the as-prepared cotton textiles were characterized. The results show that the resultant cotton textiles exhibited excellent superhydrophobicity with a WCA of 153.4° and satisfied stability, which offers a simple procedure to generate the superhydrophobicity on cotton textiles for use in a wide range of fields.A series of fluoro-containing silica sols were prepared through ammonium hydroxide catalyzed sol-gel reaction with tetraethylorthosilicate and a fluorinated copolymer as precursors. The fluoro-containing silica nanocomposites imparted excellent superhydrophobicity to the cotton textile. Fluorinated copolymer solution was directly utilized as a sol-gel co-precursor.The fluoro-containing silica sols were prepared via a one-step sol-gel reaction.The fluoro-containing silica sols were helpful to achieve the low surface energy and nanostructure.The fluoro-containing silica sols imparted superhydrophobicity to the textiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollution caused by organic dyes is of serious environmental and health concern to the population. Dyes are widely used in textile coloring applications. In the present work, cotton textile was coated with a conducting polymer, polypyrrole (PPy), in situ during the oxidative polymerization of pyrrole. The resulting materials were utilized as easily separated and recyclable adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue (MB) as a model of cationic dyes in alkaline solutions. It showed also some affinity to remove Acid Green 25 as an anionic dye in acidic medium. The adsorption was assessed by monitoring the decrease in dye concentration by UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy. The influence of various parameters such as initial dye concentration, contact time, pH, temperature, and adsorbent dose on the adsorption process was studied. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Freundlich isotherm model were found to describe the adsorption process. The thermodynamic study revealed that the adsorption of MB by PPy was feasible, spontaneous, and exothermic process. Investigation of the substrate regeneration revealed that PPy deposited on cotton textile can be reused for dye adsorption several times with good efficiency and it allows for the recovery of MB for recycling purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO) was used as coating compound to add self-cleaning and antibacterial functionality properties to the cotton fabric. TiO-consisting coating compounds were prepared at four different processing temperatures (20, 40, 60, and 80°C) in order to examine the influence of process temperature on average particle size. Among the prepared solutions, the one prepared at 80°C process temperature was selected for the dip coating application of the 100% cotton fabric, which formed a transparent nanosized TiO film on the fibrous structure of fabric. Dip coating trials were done at five coating temperatures of 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100°C. TiO-coated and uncoated fabric samples were then tested to evaluate their self-cleaning and antibacterial activities. A self-cleaning activity test was conducted using uncoated and TiO-coated fabric samples which were stained with hot tea solution via dipping method. Stained fabric samples were illuminated under a solar simulator for the color changes to measure photocatalytic degradation of stain colors. Antibacterial performance of TiO-coated and uncoated fabric samples was determined against pure cultures of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Nowadays, environmental sustainability of textile has gained much attention from government and suppliers due to the resource consumption and pollutant emissions. Besides, different consumer behaviors can result in quite different environmental consequences mainly in terms of water and energy consumption. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically evaluate the environmental impacts of textiles from a life cycle perspective to improve the sustainability of textiles especially for China, the biggest producer, exporter, and consumer in the world. Methods: This study is conducted according to the International Organizations for Standardization's (ISO) 14040 standard series. The declared unit is a piece of 100 % cotton short-sleeved T-shirt. The production data mainly come from field investigations of representative mills in China. The use-phase data are mainly from 924 questionnaires of Chinese residents. The secondary data from databases, literatures, and authoritative statistical data are supplemented in case primary data are not available. The potential environmental impacts are evaluated using the CML2001 and USEtox methodologies built into the GaBi version 6.0 software. We determine hotspots throughout the life cycle of the cotton textile considering the impact categories of abiotic depletion, acidification potential, global warming potential, photochemical ozone creation potential, eutrophication potential, water use, and toxicity. Results and discussion: The results of the study show that cotton cultivation, dyeing, making-up, and use-phases are the main contributors to the environmental impacts. In particular, fertilizer, pesticide, and water use in cotton cultivation, coal, dyes, and auxiliaries use in dyeing, electricity use in making-up, detergent and water use in washing, and electricity use in spinning are the hotspots based on the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results. The use-phase scenario analysis shows that compared with machine washing, electric drying, and ironing share the majority of electricity consumption. Compared with Americans, Chinese washing habits are much more environmental-friendly and bring much lower environmental impacts in the use stage. Conclusions: Energy consumption, chemical use, and water use are main contributors to most impact categories, which help us to find hotspots and potential improvements of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]