Functionalisation of Textiles with Nanotechnology

Abstract

AbstractThe present development of textile market is connected with an ever increasing demand for new functionalities for highly specific applications. At the same time, the industrial supply has been restricted to only a few types of synthetic fibers. Given that background, surface modification became one of the most important topics to create new textiles. Beside other techniques, the functionalisation of fibers by making use of concepts of the nanotechnology is part of our work for several years. Coatings based on nanosols and inorganic-organic hybrid polymers, derived from sol-gel process, have an immense potential for creative modifications of surface properties and can be applied with a comparatively low technical effort and at moderate temperatures. The coatings often combine properties of organic polymers with those of ceramic materials [1-11]. Therefore those hybrid polymers are of an enormous interest for technical textiles. The basic materials offer the opportunity to produce very hard but flexible coatings, especially by filling or modifying the networks with nano-particles. Approaches to modify these systems by various inorganic or organic substances can lead to a huge number of additional functionalities which are increasingly demanded from the textile industries [12-18]. Coatings of a thickness of less then one micron can act as effective barriers against chemical attacks, super-repellent surfaces can be created, or the wear-resistance of textile materials can be improved. Coatings incorporating nanoparticles as employed in sun creams protect sensitive polymers against decomposition due to ultraviolet radiation. Ballistic body wear based on fabrics protects against gun attacks but generally not against knives. For these products, thin coatings based on inorganic-organic hybrid polymers filled with alumina nanoparticles were found to give good stab-resistance. Further approaches deal e.g. with reversible photochromic coatings – coatings that change its color if irradiated with sun light -, (superpara-)magnetic hybrid polymers or medical systems based on porous sol-gel-coatings with immobilized drugs that are released in contact with skin. This paper will focus on approaches to improve ballistic body wear with respect to stab-resistance, UV-protection and water and oil repellence.