Covalent surface functionalization of nonwoven fabrics with controlled hydrophobicity,water absorption,and pH regulation properties |
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Authors: | Yoav Dan Marina Buzhor Daniel Raichman Eti Menashe Oren Rachmani Elizabeth Amir |
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Affiliation: | Department of Polymer Materials Engineering, Shenkar College, Ramat-Gan, Israel |
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Abstract: | A modular method for functionalization of nonwoven fabrics was developed using a two-step process. In the first step, the fabrics were grafted with a linker molecule, 10-undecenoyl chloride, via esterification, followed by attachment of a functional material under UV irradiation. Perfluorodecanethiol and 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) were connected to the linker-modified fabrics using thiol-ene click chemistry. Perfluorodecanethiol modified fabrics exhibited hydrophobicity with water contact angle of about 140° while MPA-modified fabrics were able to lower the pH of a solution by about 1.6. We additionally demonstrated the possibility to connect functional polymers to the linker-modified fabrics by radical graft polymerization of acrylic acid; this produced a thin layer of the polymer on the surface of the fabric. Fabrics modified with poly(acrylic acid) exhibited increased hydrophilicity with water contact angle of 0° for both cotton and viscose-polyester fabrics, while the water absorption capability for polypropylene fabrics increased from about 50 to 1200%. |
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Keywords: | functionalization of polymers grafting synthesis and processing techniques textiles |
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