Molecular Motions Aided Thermally Responsive Biocompatible Textile Pads

Abstract

Polypyrrole-viscose rayon composite was prepared by in situ polymerisation of pyrrole using ferric chloride as an oxidant. Here, 0.5 g NWVR fabric (7 × 7 × 0.3 cm 3 , spunlace nonwoven obtained from Ginni fi laments, India) was soaked in 0.4 M ferric chloride solution and 0.2 M pyrrole monomer was slowly added in to this solution under constant stirring. This reaction was performed at room temperature (25 °C) for 4 hours. After 4 hours, the PPy deposited NWVR was washed several times with water and methanol in order to remove the unreacted pyrrole, ferric chloride and loosely bound PPy. Finally, this washed fabric was dried at room temperature and annealed at 70 °C under vacuum (for further details please see supporting information).The in situ polymerisation of pyrrole on NWVR leads to a conformal coating of PPy over NWVR ( Figure 1 a,b). The NWVR used for the present study has two different surface textures (more details about NWVR is given in the supporting information): the surface containing aligned cellulose fi bres (Figure S1a Figure S2). For further probing the surface functioanlisation of NWVR, and covalent attachment of PPy into the fi ber walls, Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy has been conducted (Figure 1 d). A detailed description on FTIR is provided in the supporting information. Importantly, the bands present at 1232, 1040 and 665 cm −1 in the cellulose are attributed to the C-OH bending at C 6 , C-OH vibrations and C-OH out of plane bending, respectively. But, the red shift observed at 1232 cm −1 , blue shift at 1040 cm −1 and the increase in relative intensity at 665 cm −1 in the PPy-NWVR composite confi rms the hydrogen bond formation between -OH functional groups present in the NWVR and -NH group present in the PPy (details, please see supporting information). Thermal stability of the NWVR and PPy-NWVR were studied using TGA (Figure 1 e) and it is clear that the PPy-NWVR keeps the same thermal stability of pristine NWVR.The thermal response of a PPy-NWVR pad (dimensions: 1 × 7 × 0.3 cm 3 ) is demonstrated in Figure 2 a. This pad is placed over a temperature controlled hot plate, and further thermal response of the pad over controlled heating is monitored and recorded (Figure 2 b and video provided in the supporting Development of smart and intelligent textiles (fabrics) is sought after for tremendous applications ranging from textile industries to robotic engineering. [1][2][3][4][5] Synergy of textile chemistry and polymer engineering can leads to the development of such smart and functional composite materials. Moreover, such a synergy can also bring mechanical fl exibility, strength and thermal stability to the designed fabrics. Thermally responsive polymer (TRP) composites are one such class of materials where the polymers can respond to external thermal stimuli causing molecular level global or local dimensional changes. Different types of TRPs in the forms of solution (liquid), fi bres, foams, and fi lms were demonstrated in the recent past. [6][7][8]

Chemical, Thermo-Mechanical and Antimicrobial Properties of DBD Plasma Treated Disinfectant-Impregnated Wipes during Storage

“…Meanwhile, in the plasma-treated wipe sample, the storage modulus increased from 1.7 GPa to 4.5 GPa. The increased storage energy in ADBAC immersed wipe samples shows that the quaternary ammonium salt is able to alter the intermolecular bonding that hinders the mobility of polymer chains in the wipes [43]. This value maintained relatively stable up to 100 °C.…”

Eco-Friendly Cellulose–Polymer Nanocomposites: Synthesis, Properties and Applications

“…Phase memory polymers can respond to external stimuli due to the enthalpy changes during the phase change. Babu et al [5] developed a thermally responsive textile pads with the polypyrrole-modified textiles. Polypyrrole-modified cellulose derivatives are one such type of materials that can respond to external thermal stimuli due to the molecular level/local dimensional changes and interfacial interaction between NWVR (nonwoven viscose rayon) and polypyrrole.…”