A study on anti-bactericidal filter is carried out using electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibres by incorporating different weight percentages of silver (Ag) nanoparticles. Dimethylformamide (DMF) plays dual role, as solvent for PAN and as reducing agent for the formation of Ag nanoparticles, and the Ag nanoparticles were characterized using UV-Visible Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Then, PAN solutions with Ag nanoparticles were electrospun to produce nanofibres. Areal density of nonwoven substrate, electrospinning time, and Ag% were taken as independent variables to design the experiment for the preparation of filter. Box-Behnken method has been used to derive the experimental plan and the filters were prepared according to the plan. Later, the developed filters were studied for bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE) as well as the anti-bactericidal activity against two commonly studied grampositive S. aureus and gram-negative E. coli bacteria. From the study, the developed Ag nanoparticle incorporated PAN electrospun nanofibre filters possess 99 % BFE with good anti-bactericidal activity, which enhances the potential application in protective mask.

Silica nanoparticles particles were synthesized from rice hulls and characterized. The particles were found to be amorphous in nature, ranging in size from 50 to 100 nm. The concentration of silica nanoparticles, pH and curing time were taken as independent variables to design the experiment. Box-Behnken method has been used to derive the experimental plan and fifteen experiments were conducted. Regression equations have been formed with the dependent and independent variables and the results of all possible combinations have been derived. The combination of optimized concentration of BTCA and SHP were used as crosslinking agent and catalyst respectively and silica nano particles were used to enhance the physical properties of the cotton fabric. The effect of pH and curing time on physical properties were analysed by FTIR studies. By ranking method the best combination of process parameters were identified. From this study, it was observed that higher concentration of silica nanoparticles with BTCA improve the crease recovery angle and tensile strength. FTIR studies revealed that the increase of pH and curing time increases the ester carbonyl band intensity ratio.

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Natural fibres are widely used in different applications and one of the important applications is sound insulation. The research trends in the improvement of thermal and sound insulation of the jute-based composite materials filled with polymer materials are studied by the researchers. Jute fibres exhibit admirable heat and sound insulation properties but this has not been completely researched as yet. A detailed information related to enrich the insulation properties of jute non-woven-reinforced polymer composites based on its design of manufacturing, density of composites, morphology, structural parameters of fibre batting, number of layers and recent strategies are discussed for its high-performance potential applications.