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Ficus benjamina is an important ornamental plant in many countries of the world. Recently, this plant is attacked by a lepidopteran insect pest known as Trilocha varians (Bombucidae: Lepidoptera) in Pakistan. This pest eats the leaves making the plant unaesthetic. In the current study, toxicity of four insecticides (deltamethrin, chlorantraniliprole, fipronil and emamectin benzoate) was evaluated against T. varians. Different concentrations of these insecticides were prepared in distilled water and 3rd instar larvae were exposed using leaf dip bioassay method. The results showed that deltamethrin was more toxic to T. varians followed by emamectin benzoate, fipronil, and chlorantraniliprole. The LC50 of deltamethrin after 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 h were 18.04, 16.67, 5.74, 2.46, and 1.79 ppm respectively. The results will be useful for management of T. varians. Keywords: Chlorantraniliprole, Deltamethrin, Fipronil, Ficus, Ornamental plant

Conductive fabrics are widely used in electronic devices and electronic applications. Most the conductive fabrics are made by the coating of conductive materials on textile materials, but no one has considered the effect of the base/substrate on the conductivity. The base of conductive material is the key factor in its effectiveness. The concentration of the binder also plays a significant role in the conductivity. In this research, conductive fabrics were prepared by coating them with silver nanoparticles. Three diverse types of fabrics were selected: cotton, polyester, and nylon. Silver nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of the fabric by the dip and dry method. The effect of three different molarities of silver nitrate, and three different binder concentrations, on the electrical conductivity was investigated. The influence of washing on the conductivity was also measured. Scanning electron microscopy was carried out to analyze the surface of the fabric. The results showed that conductivity is directly affected by the molarity of silver nitrate and an inverse relationship was found for the binder concentration. The maximum conductivity obtained was 208 × 10−5 Siemens/cm. It was also observed that the conductivity decreases after washing. Further, it was also noted that the increase in binder concentration improved the washing fastness. These conductive fabrics find their application in various fields, including EMI shielding, lightweight batteries and molecular electronic devices.

Poly(ether-block-amide), often abbreviated as PEBA, is a novel polymer which is a combination of polyamide and poly ether group. The present study aimed at the fabrication of PEBA fibers by both melt and solution electrospinning. The effects of process parameters of both electrospinning techniques on fiber diameters and morphology were researched. The obtained fiber substrates were characterized for their morphology, changes in chemical composition, thermal properties, crystallinity, and hydrophobicity. Optimum results (as minimum average fiber diameter of 1.92 ± 3.31 µm) in case of melt electrospinning were obtained at tip-to-collector distance (TTCD) of 60 mm, voltage 20.0 kV, collector speed 55 rpm, and melt temperature 270 °C, whereas in case of solution electrospinning TTCD of 200 mm distance and voltage of 20 kV yielded the lowest average fiber diameter of 0.37 ± 0.34 μm. Keywords: PEBA, Melt electrospinning, Solution electrospinning, Hydrophobic membranes

The disposal of colored textile effluent into canals, rivers and sea has adverse effect on aquatic plants and animal life due to reduced penetration of sunlight into water. The aim of this study was to investigate the color removal of textile dyeing effluents with voltage-assisted photocatalytic activity of carbon fabrics containing ZnO nanorods. ZnO nanorods were grown on the oxidized carbon fabric samples by seeding technique using zinc acetate dihydrate and NaOH, followed by hydrothermal process using zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O) and hexamethylenetetramine (C 6 H 12 N 4 ). The surface morphology of functionalized carbon fabric was characterized using scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffractometer. It was found that the degradation of dyes in aqueous solutions, with voltage-assisted photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanorods on carbon fabrics, follows Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics. The study concludes that increase in the applied voltage significantly increases the rate of degradation of dyes by enhancing the photocatalytic activity of carbon fabrics containing ZnO nanorods.

Formaldehyde-based materials pose a threat to human life due to their carcinogenic nature; therefore, the development of a non-formaldehyde-based process for resin finishing of cotton fabrics is required. Hence, the goal of this study is to establish a non-formaldehyde-based resin-finishing process for cotton fabrics using the Taguchi design with optimized experimental conditions. The influences of the resin concentration, softener, catalyst, curing temperature, and curing time at three levels on the crease recovery angle, tearing strength, and whiteness index were investigated. Subsequently, the predicted levels were confirmed using a validation and the resulting p value of 0.000 indicated the strong predictive capability of the regression model for all selected responses. Finally, the structural relationship of the optimized resin-finished samples was investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis and indicated a strong chemical interaction and enhanced thermal stability of the treated fabrics. Hence, the optimization method using the L27 Taguchi design resulted in the best parameter conditions that can be used in non-formaldehyde resin finishing processes in the near future.

This novel study emphasizes to compare the properties of 100% cotton fabric printed with pigments and reactive dyes. For this purpose, a bleached cotton fabric was printed in light, medium, and dar...

This paper explores the effect of prior enzymatic treatment on non-formaldehyde crosslinked cotton fiber and crystalline structure of cotton fibers after enzyme, crosslinking and a combination of enzyme and crosslinking treatments were examined by X-ray diffractometer. Results showed that during crosslinking treatment crystallinity index (%) values were increased with reduced crystallinity size and crosslinked of enzyme treated cotton did not change the crystalline nature of cotton (i.e. it was Cellulose I). In addition, by analysing FT-IR and SEM data it is confirmed that uniform presence of crosslinking agents was visible on cotton fibres.

Fabric use for garments and other outdoor activities should have good UV absorption properties for good UV protection. Different characteristics of fabric affect their UV protection properties. This research work focus to study and model the effect of shade and construction of cotton fabric on UV protection properties using full factorial design. To study and model the effect of fabric construction 26 plain weave fabric samples of varying input parameters, e.g. ends/inch, picks/inch, warp count, weft count are selected. While to study and model the effect of shade 36 fabric samples of different L, a, b values are selected. The UV protection properties of all these fabric samples are measured by spectrophotometer. Then model of selected variables is developed with this collected data by applying response surface regression. These models show the satisfactory result and now they can be used to UV protection properties of plain bleached and dyed cotton fabric.

Polyether block amide (PEBA) nanocomposite membranes, including Graphene (GA)/PEBA membranes are considered to be a promising emerging technology for removing CO2 from natural gas and biogas. However, poor dispersion of GA in the produced membranes at industrial scale still forms the main barrier to commercialize. Within this frame, this research aims to develop a new industrial approach to produce GA/PEBA granules that could be used as a feedstock material for mass production of GA/PEBA membranes. The developed approach consists of three sequential phases. The first stage was concentrated on production of GA/PEBA granules using extrusion process (at 170&ndash, 210 &deg, C, depending on GA concentration) in the presence of Paraffin Liquid (PL) as an adhesive layer (between GA and PEBA) and assisted melting of PEBA. The second phase was devoted to production of GA/PEBA membranes using a solution casting method. The last phase was focused on evaluation of CO2/CH4 selectivity of the fabricated membranes at low and high temperatures (25 and 55 &deg, C) at a constant feeding pressure (2 bar) using a test rig built especially for that purpose. The granules and membranes were prepared with different concentrations of GA in the range 0.05 to 0.5 wt.% and constant amount of PL (2 wt.%). Also, the morphology, physical, chemical, thermal, and mechanical behaviors of the synthesized membranes were analyzed with the help of SEM, TEM, XRD, FTIR, TGA-DTG, and universal testing machine. The results showed that incorporation of GA with PEBA using the developed approach resulted in significant improvements in dispersion, thermal, and mechanical properties (higher elasticity increased by ~10%). Also, ideal CO2/CH4 selectivity was improved by 29% at 25 &deg, C and 32% at 55 &deg, C.

In this study, the influence and optimization of the factors of a non-formaldehyde resin finishing process on cotton fabric using a Taguchi-based grey relational analysis were experimentally investigated. An L27 orthogonal array was selected for five parameters and three levels by applying Taguchi’s design of experiments. The Taguchi technique was coupled with a grey relational analysis to obtain a grey relational grade for evaluating multiple responses, i.e., crease recovery angle (CRA), tearing strength (TE), and whiteness index (WI). The optimum parameters (values) for resin finishing were the resin concentration (80 g·L−1), the polyethylene softener (40 g·L−1), the catalyst (25 g·L−1), the curing temperature (140 °C), and the curing time (2 min). The goodness-of-fit of the data was validated by an analysis of variance (ANOVA). The optimized sample was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to better understand the structural details of the resin finishing process. The results showed an improved thermal stability and confirmed the presence of well deposited of resin on the optimized fabric surface.

Polyether block amide (PEBA) and PEBA based nanocomposites are one of the most promising materials in environmental technology, used for separation and filtration. Applications of Pebax are studied extensively, however, most of the previous studies focused on its use as a dense membrane without giving due attention to fibrous membranes. This research presents a novel approach to prepare fibrous PEBA Nanocomposite (PNC) membranes while giving special attention to achieving uniform nanomaterial dispersion and applicability of the technology on an industrial scale. For that purpose, extrusion process was used to prepare PNC filaments in the presence of 0.2 wt% of Paraffin Liquid (adhesive layer) and 0.05–0.4 wt% of Graphene (nanofiller material with high aspect ratio). The prepared filaments were spun into fibrous membranes using melt electrospinning as environmentally-friendly additive manufacturing technology. The spinning process was performed with a constant collector diameter (150 mm), at different drum rotational speeds (30–60 rpm), and different spinning temperatures (160–180 °C, based on the Graphene concentration) to study the effect of these conditions on the morphology of the formulated PNC membranes. Potential applications of the produced PNC membranes in the cleanup of oil spills were studied. Morphology and dispersion of the obtained PNC filaments and membranes were investigated by SEM and TEM. Chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties were studied using XRD, FTIR, TGA, DSC, and universal testing machine. The results showed that in both cases (PNC filaments and fibrous membranes) at 0.3 wt% of Graphene material with optimum properties, such as uniform dispersion, high tensile strength, elastic modulus, melting temperature, crystallinity degree (65% improvement in filaments and 58% improvement in fibrous membranes compared with pure PEBA), and low plasticity was achieved. Spinning results showed that aligned fibers with an average diameter 5 μm were produced at the highest rotational speeds (such fibers can be used in textiles) while at the lowest speeds cross-linked microfibers in form of membrane with small inter-fiber pores were produced (the membranes can be used in cleanup of oil spills). The developed approach for preparation of nanocomposite filaments can be used to produce raw material for melt spinning or 3D Printing in general.

Natural plants extract for antimicrobial of textile finishing is a vital and potential area of current and future aspects therefore has greater market value. Cotton has long been recognized as media to support the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Among all the natural antimicrobial agents the plant products comprise the major segment. The objective of this work was to investigate the antibacterial properties of Aloe Vera leaf gel extract on cotton, also its effects on the performance parameters of fabric. Softness properties were also imparted on the fabric as it is the inherit property of Aloe Vera leaf gel. Best antimicrobial properties were achieved by pad dry method with high concentrations as compared to coating method. The softness of pad-dry samples was prominent against coated fabric. Whiteness Index decreased less in pad-dry as compared to coated samples.

Nanomaterial and its application in textiles are emerging as vast and diverse field due to enhanced functionalized characteristics. This study emphasizes the fabrication of tungsten trioxide nanostructured rods and analyzes its electrostatic and ultraviolet resistance properties. These nanorods are synthesized by hydrothermal method. Through hydrothermal method rod like nanostructures were grown on polyester fabric as it withstands curing temperature easily. The growth mechanism of the film is investigated. Electrostatic analysis of treated polyester fabric was failed but the analysis of seeded solution revealed that it has tunable transmittance modulation under different voltages and repetitive cyclic between the clear and blue states. Ultraviolet resistance of 100% seeded polyester fabric was higher than untreated fabric with respect to increasing concentration of nanorods. Results show that although the seeded solution is perfect, the conductivity of tungsten trioxide cannot be achieved on textiles.