Coated Cotton Fabrics Research Articles

Fabric Coated with Shape Memory Polyurethane and Its Properties.

In order to provide thermo-physiological comfort to the wearer, textile materials should have some functional property like water-resistance or water vapor transmission (WVT), so that perspiration can evaporate and be transmitted from the body surface to the environment even in extreme weather conditions that require wind and rain proof. Shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) could possibly be a candidate; it is a functional textile material that meets such requirements. In this research, we synthesized a series of SMPUs, which are responsive materials, to test whether these coated cotton fabrics could provide thermal insulation with lower permeability at low temperature or low relative humidity (RH), and high permeability at room temperature or above, or high relative humidity with its water-resistance property. In this paper, we have proposed a segmented shape memory polyurethane for coated textiles in order to have a water-resistant textile with good water vapor transmitting ability.

In situ generation and deposition of ZnO nanoparticles on cotton surface to impart hydrophobicity: investigation of antibacterial activity

ABSTRACTThe study of ZnO nanoparticles was prepared and deposited onto cotton fabrics surface via a simple and rapid hydrothermal approach successfully. Fluorosurfactant has been used to stabilize, homogenize the coated ZnONPs and control their shape. The use of fluorosurfactant has improved the durability of ZnONPs dipped on the cotton surface and decreased it’s leaching in a particular surfactant. The surface morphology, crystalline Structure and hydrophobic nature of the uncoated and coated cotton fabric were investigated by scanning electron microscope, X-Ray diffraction, Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and water drop stability with contact angle measurement. SEM and XRD analysis revealed information about the shape and size of the coated ZnO nanoparticles is about 50–80 nm wurtzite ZnO nanoparticles. ZnONPs coated cotton fabric showed the highest antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli.

Efficient solar water vapor generation enabled by water-absorbing polypyrrole coated cotton fabric with enhanced heat localization

Solar-driven water evaporation is a simple and feasible technique in addressing the global challenge of freshwater scarcity. The conventional water vapor generation is a bulk heating process, resulting in a relatively low efficiency due to unnecessary thermal energy loss. In this work, we propose an efficient water evaporation system with enhanced localized heating which was designed by using the polypyrrole (PPy) coated cotton fabric in conjunction with a floating pore-closed polystyrene (PS) foam. The hydrophilic PPy/cotton with a broadband light absorption was obtained via a facile in-situ polymerization, and it could absorb and convert most of the incident light to heat for effective interfacial water evaporation. Meanwhile, the PS foam served as not only a supporting material but also an excellent heat barrier to restrain heat transmission from the photothermal material surface to the bulk water. The PPy/cotton-foam system can achieve a solar thermal conversion efficiency of 82.4% under 1 kW/m2 illumination with an evaporation rate as high as 1.2 kg m−2 h−1. This solar vapor generator also showed reliable reusability after 30 cycling experiments under 1 kW/m2 solar illumination. All these results indicate the designed interfacial water evaporation system is helpful to mitigate the freshwater shortage issue.

Depositing a flexible substrate of triangular silver nanoplates onto cotton fabrics for sensitive SERS detection

A flexible and effective substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection has been developed by dip coating of triangular silver nanoplates (TSNPs) onto cotton fabrics. The morphology, chemical composition and crystalline structure of the coated cotton fabrics were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. These results confirmed the presence and well dispersion of the TSNPs on the surface of cotton fabrics. p-aminothiophenol (PATP) has been used as the probe molecule to evaluate the performance of the coated cotton fabrics as a flexible SERS substrate, and the PATP in diluted solutions can be detected with the concentration as low as 10−8 M. The results indicate that the TSNPs-coated fabrics exhibit sensitive SERS signals with excellent reproducibility and stability. The flexible SERS substrate has been demonstrated to rapidly detect carbaryl pesticides on fruits.

The efficacy of surfactants in stabilizing coating of nano-structured CuO particles onto the surface of cotton fibers and their antimicrobial activity

The efficacy of surfactants in stabilizing CuO-NPs onto the surface of the cotton fibers and their ability to produce homogeneous CuO-coated cotton composite was studied using different types of surfactants. The use of surfactants provides better adhesion of the CuO NPs and consequence, enhanced its coating stability during exploitation. The optical structure and morphology of the coated cotton fabrics were examined by several methods include: X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR). The CuO-NPs-coated cotton fabrics have resisted the intensive 10 washing cycles in particular, in presence of SDS (25% loss of CuO) in comparison with TX-100 (66.5% loss of CuO). The CuO-NPs coated cotton materials have also showed an excellent inhibition for the growth of the medically relevant staphylococcus aureus and escherichia coli respectively by 91% and 95% using SDS and HY.

A novel blowing agent polyelectrolyte for fabricating intumescent multilayer coating that retards fire on cotton fabric

ABSTRACTSulfonated melamine‐formaldehyde (SMF) resin was successfully synthesized with a mixture of formaldehyde, melamine, and NaHSO3 in an aqueous solution. Then the SMF was used as the blowing agent to combine with chitosan and phytic acid for fabricating the intumescent flame retardant coating on the surface of the cotton fabric by layer‐by‐layer (LbL) self‐assembled technology. As characterized by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the (chitosan/SMF + phytic acid)n coating was successfully deposited on the surfaces of cotton fibers. Thermogravimetric analysis results exhibited that the thermal stabilities of coated cotton fabrics under nitrogen and air atmosphere were enhanced at temperatures ranging from 400 to 700 °C compared with pure cotton fabric. At 700 °C, the char residues of cotton‐5BL and cotton‐10BL under a nitrogen atmosphere were improved 25.9 and 32 wt % than that of pure cotton fabric, respectively. In the vertical flame test, the self‐extinguishing could be obtained for the cotton‐10BL sample. This work first utilized SMF as negative polyelectrolyte to fabricate intumescent flame retardant coating by LbL self‐assembled technology on cotton fabric to strengthen its thermal stability and flame resistance. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46583.

Preparation of Copper Nanoparticles Coated Cotton Fabrics with Durable Antibacterial Properties

When copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) were applied as an antimicrobial agent to finish cotton fabrics, there are two issues should be solved: the oxidization and the weak adsorbability onto cotton fiber surface. In the present work, we developed a new method that can achieve both immobilization and protection of the Cu NPs at the same time. As an effective binder, thioglycolic acid (TGA) was covalently linked to cotton fiber surface via an esterification with the hydroxyl groups of cellulose, then Cu NPs were introduced on the fabric surface in the presence of a protective reagent, citric acid. Due to the doubled stabilization acts of TGA and citric acid, the Cu NPs immobilized on the fabric surface showed an excellent antibacterial effect and outstanding laundering durability. Even after 50 consecutive laundering tests, the modified cotton fabrics still showed satisfactory antibacterial ability against both S. aureus and E. coli, which the bacterial reduction rates are all higher than 96 %. It is believed that this methodology has potential applications in a wide variety of textile productions such as sportswear, socks, and medical textiles.

Characterization of carbon nanofiber (CNF)/polymer composite coated on cotton fabrics prepared with various circuit patterns

Fabric heating elements with carbon nanofiber (CNF)/Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) composite coated cotton fabrics were prepared with various circuit patterns with the aim of providing more flexible and uniform heating performance compared to conventional fabric heating elements. To investigate the properties of the fabric heating element according to the pattern condition, patterns consisting of 3, 5, and 7 horizontal lines, i.e., P3, P5 and P7, were respectively used; and subsequently, vertical lines were added to the horizontal lines, i.e., 2P3, 2P5 and 2P7, respectively. P0 was used as the referencesample. P0 showed a surface resistance of 1.2 × 103 Ω/sq at a current of 0.85 A and an electric heating temperature of 76.9 °C. P3 and 2P3 showed better electrical and electric heating properties than other samples, showing surface resistance values of 1.0 × 103 and 1.2 × 103 Ω/sq at the current values of 0.20 and 0.25 A, and surface temperatures of 71.8 and 75.7 °C, respectively. Although the currents applied to P3 and 2P3 were lower than that applied to P0, the electrical heating properties were modified to be similar. In terms of mechanical properties and water repellency, it was shown that the coated fabrics had higher values compared to the uncoated fabric. It was thus suggested that a small amount of CNF/PVDF-HFP composite can be used to manufacture an electric heating element with excellent performance.

Photocatalysis and self-cleaning from g-C3N4 coated cotton fabrics under sunlight irradiation

Graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets have been facilely assembled via electrostatic interaction onto cotton fabrics for achieving multi-functionalities. The surface morphologies, chemical composition and optical features of the g-C3N4-coated fabrics were characterized. The treated cotton fabrics exhibited remarkable photocatalytic degradation activity and superior self-cleaning performance. A complete degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and removal of stains were accomplished under simulated sunlight irradiation. More importantly, the modified fabrics can be reused in catalysis reactions with great durability. The practical treatment approach demonstrated from this work has great potential to be applied in textile industry for functional fabrics manufacture.

Plasma treatment on cotton fabrics to enhance the adhesion of Reduced Graphene Oxide for electro-conductive properties

In this study, eco-friendly plasma pretreatment is introduced on grey cotton fabrics to enhance the surface properties and adhesion of Graphene Oxide (GO). The important plasma parameters such as power and working pressure are kept constant with various treatment times (5, 10, 20, and 60 min). The plasma-treated cotton fabrics are optimized by AFM, SEM, XPS and drop test. The XPS studies reveal that plasma treatment increases the oxygen functional groups on the grey cotton fabrics. The surface morphology (SEM and AFM) of the plasma-treated cotton fabrics reveals that increase in surface roughness which helps to improve the adhesion of GO. GO has been prepared by using modified Hummer's method. The structure and morphological studies of prepared GO are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The SEM image shows sheet-like structure. Raman analysis reveals that GO contains D band and G band. The optimized plasma treated cotton fabrics are functionalized by GO solution using a dip dry cure method and then plasma pretreated GO coated fabric (PGO) is chemically converted by vapor reduction method using hydrazine hydrate to get Plasma pretreated Reduced Graphene Oxide (PRGO) for the restoration of a high electrical conductivity at the fabric surface. The morphology, phase purity and crystallinity of the raw PGO and PRGO coated cotton fabrics are analyzed by Raman studies, SEM, XRD, ATR-FTIR and I-V studies. Our results provide a way to develop PRGO based devices in biomedical applications, wearable healthcare electronics, defense, and fashion technology etc.

Fast and simple fabrication of SiO2/poly(vinylidene fluoride) coated cotton fabrics with asymmetric wettability via a facile spray-coating route

Cotton fabrics with hydrophilic-to-hydrophobic asymmetric surfaces are attractive as potential utilizable structures for functional garments. The spray-coating route could be deemed as a fast and simple way to achieve asymmetric surfaces. In this paper, SiO2 nanoparticles with size ∼ 205 nm were synthesized via the modified sol-gel method, and then modified with poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to form a hydrophobic surface. The SiO2 nanoparticles modified with PVDF were uniformly deposited on the outer surface of cotton fabric aided with the robust air flow force from the sprayer. The morphology and chemical structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, mapping, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The results indicated that SiO2 nanoparticles were evenly deposited on the surface of cotton fibers and stable interfacial interaction occurred between SiO2 and PVDF molecular chains. The existence of SiO2 could increase the roughness of the fabric surface, which could enhance the water-repellent property of the coated fabrics. Furthermore, the water-repellent property and thermal insulation properties were evaluated via the water contact angle and thermal conductivity tests, respectively, and the results showed that 20 wt.% SiO2/PVDF fabric achieved a desirable level of contact angle, 136.6°, which was the largest water contact angle among all the samples, and the lowest thermal conductivity of 0.033 W/mK, resulting from the existence of SiO2 nanoparticles. Such a fast and simple spray-coating strategy could be widely introduced into asymmetric fabric modification, and such asymmetric fabrics with reasonable water-repellent and thermal insulating outer surfaces could act as candidates in the field of functional garments.

Enhanced wettability and moisture retention of cotton fabrics coated with self-suspended chitosan derivative

From the industrial viewpoint, it would be desirable to use neutral aqueous solution when applying chitosan coatings for textile treatment. However, in most cases, chitosan only dissolves in acid solvents. In this work, a self-suspended chitosan derivative with liquid-like behavior was prepared by decorating chitosan with a quaternary ammonium salt followed by ion exchange with nonylphenol polyoxyethylene ether sodium sulfate (NPES). The chitosan derivative with higher NPES content dissolved in neutral aqueous solution, and even exhibited liquid-like viscous behavior without water at room temperature. The morphology, structure, composition, and rheological behavior of the chitosan derivative were systematically characterized using various methods. It was found that incorporation of NPES into the chitosan structure could greatly enhance its dispersion, while the modulus and viscosity of the derivative gradually decreased with increasing temperature. Moreover, the novel chitosan derivative not only directly coated cotton fabric via hydrogen-bonding interaction without removing water but also improved the long-term wettability and moisture retention because of the dual-layer ion structure of the chitosan derivative. The results showed that cotton fabrics coated with such chitosan derivatives could be developed as wound dressing materials in future work.

Fabrication of cotton fabrics with durable antibacterial activities finishing by Ag nanoparticles

In this paper, we propose a facile and mild route to prepare size-tunable silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and their finishing application on fabrication of antibacterial cotton fabrics. The as-prepared Ag NPs, with an average particles size of 2.3 nm, show the minimal inhibitory concentration of 7.8 µg/mL and the minimum bactericidal concentration of 15.6 µg/mL, respectively. In this study, sodium citrate served as a stabilizing agent to prevent Ag NP agglomeration in the synthesis process, and citric acid acted as a binder to fix Ag NPs on the cotton fabrics through chemical bonds in the finishing process. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy demonstrate that Ag NPs have been fixed and well dispersed on the cotton fabric surface. Ag contents in the hybrid fabrics were measured by the techniques of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy and UV-vis, and the antibacterial properties of hybrid fabrics were tested by the shake flask and agar diffusion plate method. It is found that the Ag NP coated cotton fabrics exhibit excellent antimicrobial activities against both the Gram-negative bacterium of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and the Gram-positive bacterium of Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus). The percentages of reduction bacteria remain at 91.8% and 98.7% for S. aureus and E. coli, respectively, even after 50 cycles of consecutive laundering, which indicates that the antibiotic performance of the as-fabricated hybrid fabrics is also durable.

Enhanced electro-conductivity and multi-shielding performance with copper, stainless steel and titanium coating onto PVA impregnated cotton fabric

Samples of the woven cotton fabric are first modified with a continuous polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) thin film by using the padding method and then coated with copper (Cu), titanium and stainless steel (SS) respectively, by using a magnetron sputtering system. The samples are then systematically characterized with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope, X-ray diffractometer, and scanning electron microscope. The infrared (IR), ultraviolet and electromagnetic interference shielding properties of the samples are also well investigated, as well as the contact angle (CA), light transmittance and conductivity. The results show that pretreatment with PVA can enlarge the light transmittance of cotton fabric. The metal coated PVA/cotton samples show a better performance in electro-conductivity although there is a little bit decrease in other properties compared to the metal coated cotton fabric. The Cu coated PVA/cotton sample has a higher electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of − 30 dB, a lower electrical resistivity of 5.49 × 10−6 Ω m, while the Cu coated cotton sample presents a higher IR reflection rate about 25%, the SS coated cotton fabric show a higher CA of 128.2 °and UPF of 117.647. The excellent properties of the coated cotton fabric mean that it is a promising electro-conductive and multi-shielding textile for smart applications.

Polypyrrole/titania-coated cotton fabrics for flexible supercapacitor electrodes

Flexible and wearable supercapacitors are mostly desired with the fast development of wearable electronics in recent years. Herein, polypyrrole (PPy)/titania (TiO2)-coated cotton fabrics as flexible supercapacitor electrodes were prepared using both the sol-gel approach and the in situ oxidative polymerization. The maximum electrical conductivity of the composite fabrics is 6.3 S cm−1, implying that these fabrics could be directly used as electrodes. The obtained quasi-rectangular shaped cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves indicate good capacitive behavior of the composite fabrics. The GCD results demonstrate that the fabric electrodes show a significantly improved specific capacitance of 733 F g−1 with a high energy density of 44.4 Wh kg−1 at a current density of 0.6 A cm-2 as compared with the value of 366 F g−1 without TiO2. Corresponding slow decrease in specific capacitance with the increased current density indicates superior rate capability. These excellent electrochemical properties of the PPy/TiO2-coated fabrics extend their potential applications in various self-powered wearable electronics.

Superhydrophobilization of SiO2 surface with two alkylsilanes for an application in oil/water separation

This study reported a novel approach to superhydrophobilize silica (SiO2) surface by silanizing with two alkylsilanes including non-polar short hydrocarbon chains of chlorotrimethylsilane (CTMS) followed by long hydrocarbon chains of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS). The silanization of CTMS prior to OTS affected the increase in the density of short and long alkyl chains throughout SiO2 surface resulting in the surface with low surface energy and high degree of hierarchical micro-nanoscale roughness which were responsible for the superhydrophobicity. The oil/water separation filters prepared by coating cotton fabric with the CTMS- and OTS-modified SiO2/polystyrene (PS) composite using a weight ratio of the modified SiO2:PS at 2:1 possessed the highest water contact angles of 156° ± 1°. The superhydrophobic/superoleophilic filters showed excellent water repellent, oil/water separation efficiency, and reusability. The results obtained in this study suggest that salinizing the two different structure alkylsilanes, CTMS followed by OTS, can provide synergetic benefit in improving the superhydrophobicity by enhancing the density of alkyl chains on SiO2 surface. This alternative strategy can be extensively applied for development of other superhydrophobic materials.

In situ reduction of TiO2 nanoparticles on cotton fabrics through polydopamine templates for photocatalysis and UV protection

In this work, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were immobilized on the surface of cotton fabrics by in situ reduction on polydopamine (PDA) templates. Evidenced by the results of scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM–EDX), Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), PDA films were successfully formed on the surface of cotton fabrics as the templates for the in situ reduction. The morphology, chemical composition and crystal structure of the coated cotton fabrics after in situ reduction of TiO2 nanoparticles were characterized by SEM–EDX, XPS and X-ray diffraction, respectively. These results confirmed that anatase TiO2 nanoparticles were well-dispersed on the surface of cotton fabrics. The photocatalysis experiment results indicated that about 90% of methylene blue solution was degraded after UV illumination of the coated cotton fabrics. The thermogravimetric analysis results demonstrated that the TiO2 nanoparticles had little effect on the thermal stability of cotton fabrics. The results of UV protection showed that the value of the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of the coated cotton fabrics was 127.2. The UPF value was maintained at 108.8 after five cycles of laundering, indicating excellent durability of the coating in terms of UV protection.

Photodegradation of organic dyes by Bi2WO6 coated cotton fabric modified with poly(diallyldimethylammoniumchloride) under visible light irradiation

In this study, a visible-light-driven photocatalyst Bi2WO6 was assembled on fibers by linking of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) at room temperature. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Photocatalytic activity was evaluated by degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and Acid orange 7 (AO7) under visible light irradiation. Effects of concentration of PDDA in the pretreatment solution on degradation efficiency of RhB and AO7 in the presence of Bi2WO6 coated cotton fabrics were investigated. In addition, washing durability and breaking strength of Bi2WO6 coated cotton fabrics modified with PDDA were examined. The results revealed that Bi2WO6 with irregular shape were successfully coated on the cotton fabric modified with PDDA. Bi2WO6 coated cotton fabric modified with PDDA exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity with degradation efficiency of 97.4% of RhB and 94.5% of AO7, respectively. In addition, Bi2WO6 coating on the cotton fabrics modified with PDDA not only improved washing durability but also enhanced breaking strength of the fabric.

A modeling study of micro-cracking processes of polyurethane coated cotton fabrics

Polyurethane (PU) coating became popular in recent decades to achieve water resistance in clothing fabrics with enhanced visual properties. But reduced breathability of coated fabric is a setback for the clothing industry; therefore, there have been various attempts to achieve breathable water-resistant coatings. A new and facile method of enhancing breathability of PU-coated fabrics, which has been called micro-cracking, has been recently studied and highly encouraging outcomes have been obtained for the use of the process in industry. But when any process is considered to have industrial applications, it is essential to conduct not only the optimization but also modeling studies to find out whether the outputs are predictable; the process is controllable and allows us to see how the results are affected by process parameters. This work conducts a modeling study of micro-cracking processes of PU-coated samples to complete this evaluation. For this purpose, an artificial neural network (ANN) and a least square support vector model (LS-SVM) are developed for the prediction of various properties of PU-coated fabrics after micro-cracking. The results showed that the effects of micro-cracking process on various properties of coated fabric could be predicted through ANN or LS-SVM modeling; specifically, the ANN exhibited better performance in the test set of the data. Thus, it is concluded that the results and the measurements were found to be compatible for defining the process as an industrial alternative.

Facile fabrication of PVAc-g-PVDF coating on surface modified cotton fabric for applications in oil/water separation and heavy metal ions removal

Selective separation is an effective method for the removal of heavy metal ions and waste oil from wastewater. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was functionalized with polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) by in-situ polymerization, and novel PVAc-g-PVDF coating on surface modified cotton fabric were prepared. The contact angle (CA), pure water flux (PWF) and self-cleaning ability of coated cotton fabric were investigated in detail. In addition, the separation performance of coated cotton fabric was reflected by the removal of heavy metal ions in simulated wastewater. The results revealed that the PVAc-g-PVDF-coated cotton fabric was free of waste oil adhesion and was self-cleaning from waste oil in aqueous environment. Meanwhile, this coated cotton fabric can effectively separate oil/water mixtures with a high flux and high oil rejection, and was easily recycled for long-term use. More importantly, the heavy metal ions rejection ratio and adsorption capacity of cotton fabric were also improved with the addition of PVAc-g-PVDF coating. PVAc-g-PVDF-coated cotton fabric exhibited excellent rejection stability and reuse performances after several times fouling and washing tests. It can be expected that the present work will provide insight into a scaled-up fabrication process of PVAc-g-PVDF coating for purifying wastewater.