Nanotextiles - Nanotechnology in Textiles, Apparel, Nanoscience

Nanotechnology is the engineering of systems & materials at the molecular scale. By manipulating materials at such a microscopic scale, scientists are able to make materials that have far more desirable properties than the original, unmodified materials would have had. Nanotechnology is increasingly being used in the field of textiles, to produce fabrics with superior properties as well as textiles and apparel that are smart & intelligent. This section of Nextiles provides inputs and web resources for nanotextiles.

See some excellent innovative nanotextiles pictures @ the Textile & Apparel Picture Database - Nanotextiles

The Textiles Nanotechnology Laboratory @ Cornell University - This research group is focused on understanding complex phenomena at the nanoscale that are of fundamental relevance to fiber and polymer science. Their work on textiles nanotechnology can be categorized into three main thrusts: 1. Modification of existing textile materials using electrostatic self-assembly and atomic layer deposition techniques to create novel and customizable surfaces on conventional textile substrates with emphasis on natural fibers. The group has deposited polyelectrolytes, inorganic and metallic nanolayers over textile fibers with nanoscale precision opening a new avenue for the development of smart textiles. 2. Creation of novel nanofibers using directed and external fields to control self-assembly phenomena at the nanoscale. We use alternating magnetic fields to achieve precise position control of embedded nanoparticles inside polymeric fibers creating novel nanocomposite materials. The group has developed novel nanofibers having unique magnetic signatures with potential anticounterfeiting and positive identification applications. 3. Development of metrology tools based on scanning probe microscopy customized to assess nanoscale phenomena on low energy surfaces with high radius of curvature such as those of textile fibers. The group is pioneering the use of electric force microscopy as a probing tool to quantitatively determine the effect of electrical charge degradation on the filtration performance of electret filter media. They also use a novel Atomic Force Acoustic Microscopy AFAM to probe the mechanical properties of nanofibers. Read about the research, publications and news and updates about this group from their page.

A presentation of application of nanotechnology to textile fibers & apparel – Institute of Textiles & Clothing, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PDF)

An overview of Nanotechnology in Textiles, with a focus on the European market (PDF)

Smart textiles offer wearable solutions using Nanotechnology - Dec 2004 - provides an overview of nanotechnology to produce smart & intelligent textiles. Key words & terms - shirt that reads your body parameters & sends information to a remote computer; smart fabrics; Nano-Tex; Sensatex; 'smart shirt'. Read this article from the Fibre2Fashion web page

A Big Future for Small Science – Nanotechnology Textiles - This article talks about the production of nanofibers and the applications of nanotechnology in textiles. The recent applications of nanotechnology in producing fabrics with peculiar properties such as shirts having the property to stop bullets, military uniforms that can change colour, waterproof, germ proof and various other properties and other areas like filtration, nano-composites, nano-finish and nano-dyeing. Nanotechnology can also be applied in 'smart textiles', which has a great influence in the field of garment and protective clothing. Read more from this Fibre2Fashion article

Notes & Related Research

Fabrics made of natural fibers such as cotton provide desirable properties such as absorbency, breathability and softness. But, their applications often are limited owing to their lack of strength, durability, dirt resistance, flame resistance etc. Fabrics made with synthetic fibers, while generally much stronger than fabrics of natural fibers, lacks the comfort properties of cotton fabrics. Using nanotechnology, it is possible to develop next-generation cotton-based fabrics that can complement the advantages of cotton and man-made fibers. This can be accomplished either by blending cotton with special man-made nano-fibers or by treating the yarns or fabrics with various design/material modifications at nano-scale. Further research is going on in this field. (Jan 2007)

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