High-Quality Images Inkjetted on Different Woven Cotton Fabrics Cationized with P(St-BA-VBT) Copolymer Nanospheres

Magnetic quaternary ammonium polymer bearing porous agarose for selective extraction of Aristolochic acids in the plasma

Aristolochic acids (AAs) naturally occurring in the herbal genus Aristolochia are associated with a high risk of kidney failure, multiple tumors and cancers. However, approaches with high selectivity and rapidity for measuring AAs in biological samples are still inadequate. Inspired by the mechanism of AAs-induced nephrotoxicity, we designed a hybrid magnetic polymer-porous agarose (denoted as MNs@SiO2M@DNV-A), mimicking the effect of basic and aromatic residues of organic anion transporter 1 (OAT1) for efficient enriching aristolochic acid I (AA I) and aristolochic acid II (AA II) in the plasma. The monomers of vinylbenzyl trimethylammonium chloride (VBTAC), N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NVP) and divinylbenzene (DVB) were employed to construct the polymer layer, which provided a selective adsorption for AAs by multiple interactions. The porous agarose shell contributed to remove interfering proteins in the plasma samples. A magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) based on the proposed composite enhanced the selectivity toward AA I and AA II in the plasma samples. In combination of HPLC analysis, the proposed method was proved to be applicable to fast and specific quantification of AAs in blood samples, which was characterized by a good linearity, high sensitivity, acceptable recovery, excellent repeatability and satisfactory reusability.

Fabrication of Multifunctional Cotton Fabrics with Antibacterial, Hydrophobic, and Dyeing Performance

Cotton fibers have received considerable attention owing to their functional properties. Current research endeavors have shifted toward devising straightforward and versatile approaches for modifying cotton fibers. Herein, a simple and feasible method was proposed for preparing multifunctional cotton fibers. This method entailed subjecting cotton fibers to alkaline conditions, prompting the epoxy group in epoxidized soybean oil to engage in a ring-opening reaction with the hydroxyl group in cotton fibers and the amino group in polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride. Epoxidized soybean oil acted as a bridge, forming a covalent bond between polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride and cotton fibers, thereby facilitating the cationization of cotton fibers. Structural changes in the modified cotton fibers were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The modified cotton fibers were also evaluated for their dyeing, antibacterial, and hydrophobic properties. The results demonstrated that the dye exhaustion and total dye utilization of modified cotton in salt-free dyeing were much higher than those of raw cotton in conventional dyeing. The water contact angle of the modified cotton fiber reached 139.5°, and their antibacterial properties were partially improved. Importantly, this chemical modification was performed under mild conditions, highlighting its simplicity and environmentally friendly nature.

Study on the quality and inkjet printing effect of the prepared washing-free disperse dye ink

With the rapid development of digital inkjet printing, it will inevitably lead to the uneven quality of inkjet printing ink products on the market. Therefore, making a more comprehensive and accurate quality evaluation of digital printing ink is particularly important. In this study, a short process and environment-friendly washing-free disperse dye ink was prepared based on the research on ink quality. The quality of printing ink is closely related to its physical properties, printing ink stability, inkjet performance, and inkjet printing effect. The microdistribution state of water for washing-free disperse dye ink was analyzed by LF-NMR, and the influence of the microstate of water on the macro physical properties of the ink was clarified. The physical properties (particle size, pH value, surface tension, viscosity, rheological properties, etc.) of the washing-free disperse dye ink were systematically tested and analyzed. At the same time, the stability (weatherability, the temperature sensitivity of viscosity, and shear stability) and inkjet performance (drive waveform A, B, and C) of washing-free disperse dye ink were systematically investigated. Finally, the inkjet printing effect of washing-free disperse dye ink was evaluated. This study systematically examined the quality and printing effect of the prepared washing-free disperse dye ink and provided quality evaluation reference for the development of high-quality washing-free disperse dye ink.

Durable Rapid Self-Disinfection, Reusable Protective Clothing Based on the Ag-Pd@MoS2 Nanozyme with Enhanced Triple-Mode Synergistic Antibacterial Effect

Personal protective clothing plays an important role in isolating microorganisms and harmful ultrafine dust, but it cannot quickly inactivate bacteria intercepted on the surface, making it a potential source of infection. However, spontaneous and durable rapid sterilization is a major challenge for commercial protective clothing. Herein, we exquisitely engineered a visible light-enhanced Ag-Pd@MoS₂ nanozyme-based fabric, named PVDF/Ag-Pd@MoS₂/PAN fabric (PAPMP fabric), with prominent triple-mode synergistic antibacterial effect through the replacement reaction, electrospinning technique, and vacuum filtration method. The modification of Ag-Pd greatly strengthened the absorption of MoS₂ nanosheets to the visible light spectrum (390-780 nm) and its corresponding catalytic performance. Meanwhile, the combination of MoS₂ nanosheets significantly enhanced the oxidase-like characteristics of Ag-Pd under sunlight irradiation, increasing the yield of surface-bound ¹O₂ ∼4.54 times in 5 min. In addition, the obtained Ag-Pd@MoS₂ nanozyme showed an excellent photo-to-thermal conversion property (36.12%), which enabled the sharp increase in the surface temperature of the PAPMP fabric to 62.8 °C in 1 min under a solar simulator (1 W/cm²). Correspondingly, the obtained PAPMP fabric exhibited excellent intrinsic antibacterial effect and greatly shortened the sterilization time from 4 h to only 5 min under sunlight stimulation. The rapid antibacterial effect of the fabric was attributable to the enhanced production rate of surface-bound reactive oxygen species and the increased temperature by solar irradiation. Notably, the fabric still maintained the efficient germicidal effect even after 30 washing cycles. In addition to high reusability, the fabric also had outstanding biological compatibility and water resistance. Our work provides a novel strategy to improve the inherent timely sterilization and heat preservation efficiency of protective clothing.

Fabrication of Chitosan-Loaded Multifunctional Wool Fabric for Reactive Dye Digital Inkjet Printing by Schiff Base Reaction

Improving the development of high-value multifunctional wool fabrics was essential to satisfy diverse needs. Considering the various characteristics of chitosan macromolecules, herein, a padding-cross-linking process was adopted and then multifunctional wool fabrics with outstanding printing effects, shrink resistance, and antibacterial properties were fabricated. The test results showed that chitosan macromolecules loaded successfully on the wool fiber surface by Schiff base reaction. Wool fabrics changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic due to the existence of chitosan macromolecules. The color strength (K/S value) of the reactive dye inkjet-printed wool fabric was greatly increased from 20.48 to 26.6. The area shrinkage of final samples was 2.53%, which was exceedingly lower than that of the original wool (10.96%). Moreover, the chitosan macromolecules with reactive amino groups endowed wool fabrics with certain antibacterial properties against E. coli and S. aureus. Generally, this study provided guidance for manufacturing multifunctional digital inkjet-printed wool products in mass production.

Insights into coloration enhancement of mercerized cotton fabric on reactive dye digital inkjet printing

Mercerization can improve the utilization rate of dyes in the dyeing process, and reduce the discharge of washing wastewater. However, the effect and mechanism of mercerization is not clear on digital inkjet printing of cotton fabric. In this work, two kinds of cotton fabrics (original and mercerized) were used for reactive dye digital inkjet printing, and the color improvement mechanism of caustic soda mercerization was investigated. It was found that the crystallinity of cotton fibre was adjusted from 73.9% to 58.5% by caustic mercerization, and the breaking strength did not decrease compared with original cotton fibre. Thus, the accessible reactive hydroxyl groups and the wettability were enhanced for treated cotton fibres, which promoted the inks' wick into the fibres. Interestingly, the penetration of ink droplets between the yarns and fibres after caustic mercerization was decreased, thus the dyes mainly gathered on the surface of cotton fabric. The cotton fibres' cross section structure changed from flat oval to round, which increased the contact area between reactive dyes and fibres. At a certain amount of ink, the optimal K/S value of 23.47 was achieved for treated cotton fabrics, which was higher than that of untreated cotton fabrics (17.15). Meanwhile, the printed fabrics displayed good washing fastness, rubbing fastness and glossiness. This work has important theoretical guiding significance for producing high quality mercerized cotton fabric digital printing products and reducing printing wastewater discharge.

Mercerization can control the crystallinity of cotton fiber, promote the absorption of ink droplets' wick into the fiber and inhibit ink droplets from penetrating the back of fabric. Therefore, the printing quality was extremely enhanced.

Smart Textiles Based on MoS2 Hollow Nanospheres for Personal Thermal Management

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides are of particular interest in high-performance photothermal conversion, yet there remains a huge challenge in their practical application in smart textiles for healthcare, energy, and personal protection. Herein, we controllably prepared MoS₂ hollow nanospheres with a high photothermal conversion efficiency of 36% via a microemulsion-hydrothermal method, which was further applied to construct photothermal fibers for personal thermal management after a hot-blast dip-drying process. Because of the prominent photothermal effect, the temperature of the photothermal fibers sharply increases from the room temperature value of 25.0 to 55.5 °C in 60 s under near-infrared illumination with a power density of 500 W/cm². Furthermore, the photothermal fiber pad demonstrated an obvious temperature enhancement of 38.0 °C from a skin temperature of 22.0 °C after it was irradiated by natural sunlight for 60 s. Significantly, the antibacterial elimination rates of the photothermal fibers for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus are ∼99.9 and ∼99.8%, respectively. This strategy affords an avenue toward the practical application of photothermal materials in smart fibers for personal thermoregulation.

Chromatographic Effects in Inkjet Printing

We have studied the chromatographic separation of solvents and dyes after deposition of a dye solution on a paper substrate. Due to their larger molecular size, dyes typically exhibit a stronger interaction with the paper constituents. Consequently, the imbibition process of the dye is usually delayed compared to that of the solvent. This impacts the achievable resolution and color homogeneity in inkjet printing. We present experiments and a comprehensive numerical model to illustrate and quantify these effects. The model accounts for the solvent evaporation, heat transfer, multicomponent unsaturated flow, and dye adsorption, as well as the presence of permeable fibers in the paper substrate. We identify the key parameters that can be tuned to optimize the pattern fidelity of the printing process.

Synergistic Effects of Alpha Olefin Sulfonate and Sodium Alginate on Inkjet Printing of Cotton/Polyamide Fabrics

Bicomponent or multicomponent fiber fabrics are important materials for manufacturing high-performance textiles. However, the printing and dyeing of these fabrics are very difficult because the dyeability of different fibers varies greatly. The present study investigated the inkjet printing performance of interwoven fabrics of cotton and polyamide 6. The surfactant alpha olefin sulfonate (AOS) was incorporated into the sodium alginate (SA) solution to pretreat the fabrics to improve the color effects of printed fabrics. The results indicate that fabric pretreatment using 5% alpha olefin sulfonate and 2% sodium alginate significantly enhanced the image colors through increasing the hydrophilicity of the film formed on polyamide fibers and changing the surface morphology of both the fibers. The molecules of AOS interacted with the macromolecules of SA to form the composite films, where the AOS concentration gradient increased outward and SA concentration gradient increased inward. The synergistic pretreatment of alpha olefin sulfonate and sodium alginate endowed the fabrics with high inkjet printing performance, satisfactory color fastnesses, and durability.

Effect of Polyol Molecular Structure on Fluidity, Surface Tension, and Printed Pattern Sharpness of Disperse Dye Inks

In the present study, density functional theory (DFT) has been used in simulating and calculating the molecular geometries of differently structured polyols (within a water phase), as well as the weak interactions between these polyols and the water molecules. Furthermore, low field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) has been used in studying the transverse relaxation times of different polyols, in addition to their (20.00 wt %) fluidity in an aqueous environment. Moreover, the influence of polyols, with different molecular structures, on the ink fluidity, was also explored. A bubble pressure tensiometer was also used to characterize the surface tension of the aqueous polyol (20.00 wt %) solution, the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS, 0.50 wt %) solution, and the ink. This was made to clarify the influence of polyol and SDS on the surface tension of ink. In addition, the particle size, zeta potential, pH value, viscosity, and rheological properties of the ink, were also investigated. The resulting data showed that polyols have certain effects on the particle size, stability, and viscosity of the ink. The jetting performances of different polyol inks were, under certain conditions of the inkjet drive waveform, also explored. The results showed that the fluidity, viscosity, and surface tension of the ink will render a certain influence on the inkjet performances. The prepared polyol ink was thereafter used for polyester fabric printing, and the contour sharpness and color fastness of the printed fabric were accordingly evaluated. The data showed that the increase in ink viscosity, and decrease in fluidity, promote the improvement in contour sharpness. In addition, the printed fabric demonstrated an excellent color fastness.

Green and Efficient Inkjet Printing of Cotton Fabrics Using Reactive Dye@Copolymer Nanospheres

Digital inkjet printing of textiles possesses great advantages like high efficiency and flexible production, but the challenges like the risk of causing serious environmental problems due to the large usage of dyes and chemicals still remain a matter of concern. In response to this problem, herein, a novel kind of reactive dye@copolymer nanosphere was prepared through the adsorption of C. I. Reactive Red 218 dyes (RR218) onto cationic poly(styrene-butyl acrylate-vinylbenzyl trimethylammonium chloride) (PSBV) nanospheres and applied in inkjet printing on woven cotton fabric. Results show that the prepared RR218@PSBV nanospheres possessed homogeneous size and good stability for ink preparation. In comparison with the original RR218 solution, the color depth of RR218@PSBV-printed fabric increased by 1.4 times and the dye residues in the printing effluent were reduced by about 45%. Meanwhile, the consumptions of sodium carbonate and urea in conventional inkjet printing were reduced by about 3.3 and 22.8 mg/cm², respectively, and the printing process was simplified with 30% energy saving. Furthermore, the mechanism of the color enhancement by nanospheres was revealed by the calculation of absorption and scattering coefficients based on the Kubelka-Munk function. This work provides a potential application of dye@polymer nanospheres to promote the optimization of the textile inkjet printing technique and alleviates the environmental impact of conventional textile coloration.

Effects of Viscosity and Surface Tension of a Reactive Dye Ink on Droplet Formation

In textile inkjet printing, understanding the effect of viscosity and surface tension of a reactive dye ink on droplet formation is of great significance. As an organic ecofriendly solvent, polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of -400 g/mol (PEG400) was used to prepare reactive dye inks with or without Surfynol 465 (S465) to explain separately how viscosity and surface tension affect the droplet formation of a reactive dye ink. The intermolecular interactions in the ink and physical properties of the ink were investigated by measuring the visible absorption spectra, hydrodynamic radius, viscosity, and surface tension. Droplet formation under a single variable influence of viscosity or surface tension was observed by taking photographs using a high-speed camera. Results show that a high ink viscosity condition generates no satellite droplet formation and a slower droplet velocity, and a higher surface tension tends to cause ligament rupture from the nozzle tip and the droplet. Moreover, a twill cotton fabric printed using the PEG-S465-dye ink at a 30% PEG400 concentration showed higher ink penetration, dye fixation rate, ideal color strength, and rubbing fastness.