Fibers and Polymers最新文献

This study aims to develop an eco-friendly, multifunctional filter material capable of simultaneous photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and antimicrobial action. Thus, the study focusess on the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) using algal extract and their utilization for cotton fabrics treatment in order to fabricate ZnONPs-coated cotton fabric material for sustainable water purification. The particle size was established to be approximately 34.2 nm with a polydispersity index (PdI) of 0.377. The treatment of cotton fabric with ZnONPs caused the roughness morphology of the cotton surface. Optimized conditions involved pH = 8, T = 25 °C, and t = 77.5 min, where MG completely degraded on a UV light tube coated by ZnONPs as its photocatalyst due to high production of reactive oxygen species. Further, microbicidal assay exhibited the diameters of clear zone ranging from 32 to 38 mm against some pathogenic bacteria, such as E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Candida albicans. Likewise, reusability analyses exhibited that after five cycles, the degradation efficiency (%) remained at 76.1%. The safety and the biocompatibility of tested filter materials were confirmed with EC₅₀ values of over 100 as indicated by toxicity tests. The results demonstrate that ZnONPs-coated cotton fabric is a promising eco-friendly material with dual functionality, offering efficient photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and strong antimicrobial activity, making it a viable solution for sustainable water purification.

This study investigates the development and performance evaluation of sustainable composites using recycled PET foam core, areca fiber, and pectin-modified vinyl ester resin. The surface of the PET core and areca fiber was modified with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane to enhance fiber–matrix bonding. The composites were fabricated using a hand layup method, and mechanical, thermal conductivity, and flammability properties were evaluated under untreated and silane-treated conditions, including aging treatments with hot water at 50 °C and cold water at 20 °C. The results demonstrate that the silane-treated composites exhibit significantly better performance than untreated specimens across all tests due to improved fiber–matrix adhesion. Specifically, specimens O1 and O2, composed of 60 vol% PET foam core, 20–30 vol% areca fiber, and 3 vol% pectin filler, show superior properties. O1 shows increases in tensile strength from 34.24 to 40.66 MPa, flexural strength from 64.73 to 76.51 MPa, and interlaminar shear strength from 7.65 to 10 MPa. O2 similarly shows an increase in tensile strength from 37.45 to 43.87 MPa, flexural strength from 70.62 to 84.74 MPa, and interlaminar shear strength from 9.18 to 11.53 MPa. These enhancements are attributed to the combined effect of pectin filler and silane treatment, which improves fiber–matrix interactions and load transfer capabilities. Thermal conductivity also shows notable improvements with silane treatment, enhancing the heat transfer properties of the composites due to better interfacial bonding. The SEM analysis further confirms these findings, showing enhanced fiber–matrix bonding with fewer voids and gaps, even after aging, indicating that silane treatment improves the durability and mechanical integrity of the composites. This makes the silane-treated composites, particularly O1 and O2, suitable for structural, automotive, and marine applications requiring high strength, durability, and thermal stability.

Airbags––coated and uncoated––are known as passive safety devices and are designed to guarantee efficient crash protection. Therefore, improving every feature of airbag functionality (material or design) is necessary for ensuring the security assurance. Extreme conditions during airbag deployment (high internal temperature and pressure) demand airbags to possess special designation; meanwhile, other technological obstacles (e.g., gas permeability, thickness, and stiffness) pose further design challenges. Despite tremendous efforts being made to improve airbag functionalities, technological innovations and progresses since its first release have been rarely reported. Accordingly, the present study aims to investigate the effect of air corona discharge and ZnO nanoparticle coating on the thermal and mechanical properties of Nylon 66 airbag fabrics. According to the obtained results from full-scale testing of airbag samples, prolonged corona treatment time could harm the mechanical properties of N66 fibers/fabrics so that airbag fabrics fail passing the deployment test. In addition, with regard to FESEM observations, the diameter of the fibers increases noticeably that results in a small rise in fabric thickness and stiffness, which also discloses evidences of microscale damage on the outer surface of fibers. DSC test results further revealed significant improvement in specific heat capacity and melting peak area of airbag fabrics as a result of coating with ZnO nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the optimum time of corona treatment creates functional moieties on the surface of fibers/fabrics that substantially increases the affinity of ZnO nanoparticles to the surface of fabric and results in remarkable improvement in the flammability, laser cutting quality, and antibacterial activity of airbag fabrics.

The presence of hydrophobic scales in wool leads to felt shrinkage, stiffness and hinders the dyeing process. This study suggests that plant protease can focus on breaking down the keratin in the scale layer on the “hydrolysis mode” to achieve a controlled peeling from the surface layer of the scale gradually to the outer layer, with little damage to the inner layer and CMC layer. The opening of the channel in the scale layer enhances the adsorption and diffusion of the dye in the fiber, thus making dyeing very easy. Wool fabrics before and after enzymatic treatment were structurally characterized using Raman spectroscopy, FT-Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The results showed that papain and bromelain tended to cleave the amide bonds and some intermolecular disulfide bonds in the molecular chains of keratin in the wool scale layer. In comparison, papain reduced the felting shrinkage of the wool fabric to 2.11%. It also increased the anti-pilling level of wool fabric by 1 level and the antistatic property by 30%. Besides, pretreatment with bromelain had a significant effect on traditional dip dyeing, increasing the dyeing rate by 48% and the K/S value by 28%. The strategy played a positive role in promoting the sustainable development policy of energy saving and emission reduction. This study provides an alternative method for environmentally friendly anti-felting finishing and low-temperature dyeing of wool fabric that can be applied commercially.

With developments in technology and finishing processes, the antibacterial properties of textiles are increasingly regarded as important. In the present work, the nanosilver antibacterial finishing was investigated on printed silk fabric with madder natural dye using Response Surface Methodology. The effects of four parameters—dye concentration, nanosilver concentration, mordant concentration, and alginate concentration—were analyzed. First, the madder dye was extracted using methanol solvents in a Soxhlet extraction system. The extract of madder was used for printing on silk fabric. Antibacterial finishing was performed by coating the silk fabric with nanosilver before and after printing. The samples were evaluated by measuring color strength, lightness, chroma, hue, washing fastness, and antibacterial properties as the diameter of the non-growth halo. The results show that the difference between the diameters of the non-growth halo of pre-finishing and post-finishing methods is not significant. In the pre-finishing method, the effects of dye and nanosilver on the non-growth halo are significant. In the post-finishing method, the effects of alum and nanosilver are significant. The washing fastness in the post-finishing method is better than in the pre-finishing method. The average, maximum, and minimum color differences between the two methods are 13.52, 33.51, and 3.48, respectively. In the pre-finishing method, the parameters of madder dye, mordant, and nanosilver have a significant effect on color strength. In the post-finishing method, the effects of madder dye and alum mordant are significant. The results show that the order of printing and finishing with nanosilver affects the shade, color depth, antibacterial properties, and wash fastness of silk fabric. The best results are obtained when the antibacterial finishing with nanosilver is performed first.

This study aimed to confirm the most suitable materials and 3D printing processing conditions as infill patterns to fabricate 3D-printed soft conductive structure using fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing. The samples were fabricated into cubic structures using two types of carbon materials/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) filament, graphene (GR)/TPU, and carbon black (CB)/TPU. The 3D printing processing conditions were set as follows: nozzle size of 0.4 mm, nozzle temperature of 250 °C, printing speed of 60 mm/sec, and infill density of 20%. Especially, infill patterns set as Zigzag (ZG), Triangles (TR), and Honeycomb (HN). Characteristics were analyzed through actual printing time and weight, compressive property, electrical property, and electromechanical property. The electromechanical property was evaluated by checking conductivity during repeated compression to verify the piezoelectric characteristics. As results, printing time was longest for HN, followed by TR and ZG, while CB/TPU structures were heavier than GR/TPU ones. Compressive stress was twice as high for GR/TPU compared to CB/TPU, with HN exhibiting the highest strength among infill patterns. Electrical conductivity was superior in CB/TPU structures, particularly with the HN pattern. Moreover, CB/TPU demonstrated higher conductivity during repeated compression, with the HN pattern showing optimal characteristics due to minimized layer spacing. Thus, CB/TPU with its superior elasticity and conductivity, combined with the HN infill pattern, was deemed suitable for conductive structures.

In this study, the effect of using carbon-based non-woven fabric (NWF) also known as a veil, on the mechanical and electromagnetic properties of glass/epoxy-based functional composites has been investigated. A fiber spinning technique was used to manufacture Carbon Veil (CV) in which optimized weight percentages of carbon fibers have been infused with glass fiber. Carbon veil with glass fiber-reinforced polymer (CV/GFRP) composites with different stacking sequences have been prepared through the wet-layup process for electromagnetic and mechanical characterization. The electromagnetic properties of the GFRP/Veil composites, along with their complex permittivity and permeability, were investigated using a free space measurement system in the C, X, and Ku bands (5.2–18 GHz). Microwave absorbing properties show that a minimum 10 dB reflection loss (90% electromagnetic absorption) is attained for the CV-based radar-absorbing structure (RAS) composite in the entire C and X frequency region having a composite thickness of 4.5 mm. Mechanical properties of CV/GFRP composites, including tensile strength, flexural strength, and inter-laminar shear strength, were examined using American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. The fabricated CV/GFRP composite shows a prospective claim for radar absorption and structural application.

Graphical Abstract

This study presents the development and evaluation of an Active Vibration Cancellation (AVC) system utilizing smart piezoelectric composite materials, specifically Macro Fiber Composites (MFC), to mitigate vehicle interior vibrations during highway driving. The AVC system generates out-of-phase vibrations to counteract the predominant z-axis vibrations experienced during high-speed driving. The system was tested through simulated vibration experiments at 80 km/h and 100 km/h, with data analyzed using time–frequency continuous Wavelet transform (CWT), fourier transform (FT), and time series analysis. The results showed a significant cancellation in vibration magnitudes, particularly in the 10 Hz and 30–50 Hz frequency ranges, canceling the vibrations to 17.91% of their initial magnitude. The analytic morse wavelet(AMW), one of the CWT analysis further confirmed the system's ability to attenuate vibrations across various frequency ranges, demonstrating its potential as a solution for enhancing passenger comfort and reducing motion sickness in autonomous and future vehicles.

In this study, we constructed an Ecoflex reinforced fabric capacitive pressure sensor (ERF sensor) with the objective of extending the pressure measurement range. This was achieved by employing warp knitted spacer fabric (WKSF) and Ecoflex. Furthermore, a Graphene/Ecoflex reinforced fabric capacitive pressure sensor (GERF sensor) was produced with an adjusted sensitivity using graphene. Subsequently, the performance of the fabricated sensors was evaluated utilizing a universal testing machine (UTM) and dielectric test fixture (DTF). The 15wt% GERF sensor can measure a maximum pressure range of 368.37 kPa, which is approximately 6 times and 13 times greater than those of Ecoflex and WKSF monomaterial sensors, respectively. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the GERF sensor with 15wt% graphene was 0.0194 kPa⁻¹, maintaining a level similar to that of the Ecoflex single-material sensor (0.0218 kPa⁻¹). This study presents a method for enhancing mechanical properties and expanding the pressure measurement range through compounding monomaterial, while adjusting sensitivity.

The flammability of cotton fabric presents notable safety hazards, underscoring the importance of effective flame-retardant treatments. This research investigates an eco-friendly method to improve the flame resistance of cotton fabric using a combination of graphene oxide and microcapsules containing inorganic eutectic phase change materials with a silica shell. The treated fabrics' morphology and chemical composition were examined using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (Attenuated Total Reflectance) (FT-IR ATR) analyses. The findings revealed that graphene oxide significantly enhances the absorption of microcapsules on the cotton fabric surface. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) showed a notable increase in the thermal stability of the treated samples, with a residue of 32 to 35% at 360 °C. Furthermore, vertical flame test results indicated a burning length of 3.33 ± 1.24 mm for the modified fabric, compared to the easily ignitable raw cotton, demonstrating a synergistic effect of graphene oxide and silica shell microcapsules. This enhanced performance is particularly advantageous for applications requiring both improved fire safety and efficient temperature regulation. Our results suggest that this innovative treatment method holds significant potential for advancing the development of safer and more efficient flame-retardant textiles, addressing the critical need for safer textile materials in various applications.