Chitosan is a desirable material for several reasons, including its biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and excellent absorption. Rapid progress in material science has resulted in the development and widespread use of chitosan in the textile industry primarily because it is polycationic and can inhibit microorganism activity. However, high electrostatic, poor mechanical properties, and the polycationic property of chitosan materials, which are the main reason for the electro-static generation of chitosan fibers, have a negative impact on the spinning process and lower the quality of chitosan yarns. Therefore, there is a critical need to reduce production losses and improve the poor spinnability. A new spinning approach exploits triboelectric electrostatic theory to efficiently remove the electric charge and to promote yarn formation under optimum conditions precisely and controllably, thereby minimizing waste and achieving a high utilization ratio of the chitosan fibers. Lagrange interpolation is used to systematically analyze the basic mechanical properties of the developed materials. The results show that the tenacity of chitosan/PAN blended yarns is superior to that of chitosan/cotton blended yarns because of the complementary effect of positive and negative charges; and the novel application of static theory can be used to effectively resolve the high static and reduce material cost problems in the yarn production process. This new approach is expected to promote the usage of chitosan fibers in the textile industry and in medical applications.

Understanding the charge interaction between molecules and two-dimensional (2D) materials is essential for the design of functional devices. Here, we report the bifacial Raman enhancement of molecules on monolayer graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). Taking advantage of the atomically thick layered structure, we show that both surfaces of 2D materials can interact with molecules and simultaneously enhance their Raman scattering. Different enhancement features were observed for monolayer graphene and h-BN. The intensity decrease of particular Raman modes of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) on both surfaces of h-BN suggests that z-dipoles exist and are partially canceled out between the two interfaces, while the twice Raman intensities of the characteristic Raman modes of CuPc on both surfaces of graphene compared to that on one surface evidenced the charge transfer process. These results provide an approach to modify 2D materials by bifacial adsorption of molecules, and the findings can inspire the design of functional 2D material-based devices.

Advancements in material science have driven the development of the textile industry. Chitosan has inherent advantages, such as biodegradability, nontoxicity, and antibacterial and wound acceleration properties. It has been applied in the textile industry as a coating on fabrics. Nevertheless, research on single-component chitosan fibers is scant. The advantages of single-component chitosan fibers include improved comfort, laundry durability, abrasion resistance, and structural flexibility. To fill the mentioned research gap, this study developed an industrial-manufacturing-based method for testing and analyzing chitosan fibers. This method was demonstrated by studying the physical and biological performance of commercial chitosan fibers. Studying the characteristics of the chitosan fibers revealed the influence of the fiber structure on their performance. Although chitosan fibers with a higher degree of deacetylation had a shorter molecular chain, they exhibited higher strength. Moreover, the molecular weight and deacetylation degree influenced biological performance. Chitosan fibers with higher deacetylation degree chitosan had better antimicroorganism performance on Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans; however, no such relationship was observed for the solution form of chitosan. These results imply a difference in antimicroorganism mechanisms between the fiber (solid) form and solution form of chitosan.

Fiber technology has stepped into an essential position in the textile industry. It is forecasted that smart textiles will keep on developing constantly and vigorously. Having a convenient drug delivery system for treating various illnesses and bacterial infections is always in demand. Hollow fibers, which consist of a hollow structure and exceptional characteristics, such as high loading capacity and high surface reactivity, have been considerably used in medical equipment. A pilot study was performed in this paper for opening up environmentally friendly, convenient and repeatable drug delivery functions of industrial, ready-made hollow fibers for sustainable development in various aspects. The hollow fiber drug delivery system of this project is believed to tackle the challenges observed from the traditional drug delivery system, which include the following: (1) replacement of one-time delivery by repeatable drug loading and releasing; (2) loading complex drugs, such as in Chinese medicine; (3) using common materials available in the current textile market. Nylon 6 hollow fiber was the main subject of the pilot study. Its drug loading capability was investigated with the application of woven fabrics via the process of simple and direct drug loading under negative pressure (i.e. vacuum). The antibacterial performance of the drug-loaded fabrics and the drug release kinetics of the hollow fibers were examined.