Lamination of Nanofibre Layers for Clothing Applications

Abstract

Nanofibre membranes and nanofibre products represent break-through technology in many fields of industry. They are used for air or liquid filtration, and their unique properties are suitable for many new health products or when manufacturing clothes etc. Their biggest advantage is their high porosity and fineness. On the other hand, the disadvantage of these membranes is the fact that it is not a homogenous material/foil, but a layer of fibres or rather several fibre layers (hereafter we will always use the term nanomembrane). This structure has a very negative impact on some of its properties i.e. strength, abrasion resistance, pressure resistance etc. This work introduces a 2-layer-laminate and 3-layer laminate where one of the layers is made of nanofibres with a view to their use in the manufacturing of clothes for sport and outdoor activities. The nanofibre membrane laminate must protect the wearer from weather conditions like rain and snow and, at the same time, enable transferring of liquid moisture from the wearer’s body to the outside environment. Using lamination, we can connect the fine nanofibre membrane to a resilient textile material (knitted, woven or non-woven). This stronger textile material protects the more fragile nanomembrane from the outside environment (abrasion, friction etc.) while not diminishing its good comfort properties, like being windproof, waterproof and having good steam-permeability. The result of this work is a laminate with a high level of steam permeability, with minimum air permeability and a water column higher than 5000 mm. The tests carried out proved that during repeated washing cycles no delamination occurred and hydrostatic resistance decreased by approximately 20%.

A Study on Tencel/LMPET–TPU/Triclosan Laminated Membranes: Excellent Water Resistance and Antimicrobial Ability

“…In comparison with the control nonwovens, the introduction of a TPU hydrophobic film changes the surface tension of the laminate composite membranes, thus improving the hydrophobic property [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. The water resistance and antimicrobial property of the proposed laminated nonwovens (Tencel/LMPET–TPU/TCL–0.1) are compared with the results of a previous study [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 11 , 34 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ] (as seen in Table 2 ), in which the hydrostatic pressure was 15–84 kPa for PU-contained laminated fabrics and 38–83 kPa for electrospinning nonwoven membranes. By contrast, Tencel/LMPET–TPU/TCL–0.1 laminated nonwovens show a greater hydrostatic pressure of 100 kPa because of LMPET fibers and compact PU pore-free membranes.…”

“…In the present day, PU showing various unique features, e.g., high elasticity, good tenacity, ultralightness, highly waterproof quality, and chemical-pollution-resistance properties has become one of the promising membrane materials [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Meanwhile, a growing number of antimicrobial PU membranes are becoming popular in the medical textile field.…”

Review of Waterproof Breathable Membranes: Preparation, Performance and Applications in the Textile Field

“…As a waterproof and breathable layer of protective clothing, WBMs also play a great role in the field of protection [105], helping staff who need to work at high temperatures to effectively discharge surface sweat and reduce the occurrence of heat stress [106]. Heart failure caused by heat stress is one of the most common causes of death of fire personnel, so the WVTR of firefighting clothing should be around 10 kg m −2 d −1 to ensure the safety of high-temperature operation.…”

Nanofibrous Membranes in Multilayer Fabrics to Avoid PCM Leakages

“… [18,20–30] . Besides, the high resistance against mass transfer of nanofibrous membrane‐coated fabrics have been proposed [31] . From this point of view, it is an alternative to use the nanofibrous membranes can be used as barrier layer to resist against the penetration of melting PCMs by adjusting their interfacial adhesion.…”