Polypyrrole coating on aramid fabrics for improved stab resistance and multifunction

Abstract

As an epoch of intelligent clothing is coming, soft body armor is required to possess not only improved mechanical performance but more functions, such as electronic conductivity, anti-ultraviolet capability, electrical heating property, etc. In this work, polypyrrole (PPy) is coated on Twaron fabrics to enhancing their stabbing resistance and simultaneously endowing them with multifunction. The resultant PPy-coated Twaron fabric exhibits better tensile strength. The strength of the PPy-coated fiber is increased by 12.03% and the maximum friction between the yarns in the PPy-coated fabric increases by 8.96 times. The quasi-static stab resistance of the PPy-coated fabric is also significantly improved in comparison with that of the neat counterpart. Furthermore, PPy-coated fabric exhibits anti-ultraviolet capability, high electrical conductivity, and stable electrical heating properties. The saturation temperature from the electrical heating is tunable by adjusting the applied voltage. These functions ensure that the treated fabrics can be applied in more areas and facilitate relieving the adverse effects from the external environment (rainstorm, blizzard, insolation, etc.) for the soft body armor. This study offers the potential of developing the novel generation of smart soft body armor with both excellent protective performance and intelligent wearable properties.

Flexible Puncture-Resistant Composites for Antistabbing Applications: Silica and Silicon Carbide Nanoparticle-/TPU-Coated Aramid Fabrics

“…The composite prepared in this study exhibited a significant improvement in the maximum quasi-static peak puncture resistance force (267.6 N) compared to the pure aramid fabric (15.61 N), with an increase of 1614.29%. This improvement surpasses the puncture resistance performance of other composites, such as PPy/Twaron, 11 TPU/silica/STF/aramid, 12 TPU/silica/nonwovens, 13 TPU/polyester nonwo-vens, 14 STF/aramid, 15 and SiC/STF. 19 Moreover, the puncture-resistant composites developed in this study also demonstrated excellent resistance to strong acids and bases, surpassing other composites such as fluoropolymer/silica hybrids, 50 PVDF-HFP/FAS/WPU, 47 PTFE, and FAS for chemical protection, 51 PTFE/silica-coated fabrics, 52 and F− SiO 2 @AP coatings.…”

“…In order to accomplish the aforementioned objectives, researchers have conducted extensive research in this field. The current approach to achieve a combination of puncture resistance and flexibility involves the use of inorganic/organic hybrid coatings, such as shear thickening fluid (STF), hydrogels, and resins, in conjunction with high-performance fibers such as Poly-p-phenylene benzobisoxazole (PBO), carbon, or aramid fibers. , Wang et al reported a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material with an ultrahigh toughness and good impact resistance, which is one of the most promising materials in the field of personal protection . Additionally, the puncture and cut resistance of these composites can be greatly enhanced by modifying parameters such as the type of nanoparticle fillers, contents, and particle sizes .…”

Stab-Resistant Polymers—Recent Developments in Materials and Structures

“…Generally, different polymers can be used to glue the fibers or filaments of a textile fabric together and thus increase the fiber/fiber friction, leading to improved stab resistance [ 68 , 69 , 70 ]. On the other hand, many textile fabrics with a coating of silica or other ceramic materials are reported as lightweight stab resistance materials.…”

Mechanical properties of modified aramid three‐dimensional braided composites

“…Therefore, fiber surface modification improves the interfacial bonding properties with the resin matrix 7,8 . Depending on different modification principles, the commonly used modification methods include plasma treatment, 9,10 surface coating treatment, 11,12 surface grafting, 13,14 and acid–base etching 15,16 . High‐energy particle treatment requires reasonable process control, and surface etching often causes a loss of fiber strength.…”

“…principles, the commonly used modification methods include plasma treatment, 9,10 surface coating treatment, 11,12 surface grafting, 13,14 and acid-base etching. 15,16 High-energy particle treatment requires reasonable process control, and surface etching often causes a loss of fiber strength.…”