Textiles, Volume 3, Issue 2 (June 2023) – 6 articles

Textiles have been pivotal to economies and social relationships throughout history. In today’s world, there is an unprecedented demand for smart materials. The advent of smart textile fabrics, crafted from high-quality, high-performance fibers, has enabled the incorporation of specific functions into clothing and apparel brands. Notably, the rise of smart fabrics is evident in astronaut suits designed to regulate temperature and control muscle vibrations. Moreover, the scope of these products has expanded beyond everyday wear, encompassing fields such as medicine and healthcare, ecology/environmental protection, and military and aerospace. This review explores the recent advancements and challenges associated with intelligent fabrics, particularly temperature-dependent shape-memory metamaterials. The potential for innovative smart textile materials to enhance traditional fabrics’ overall functionality and utility is immense, especially in domains such as medical devices, fashion, entertainment, and defense. Crucially, ensuring user comfort is a primary consideration in these applications for promoting the widespread adoption of wearable devices. Developing smart textile devices necessitates a multidisciplinary approach that combines circuit design expertise, knowledge of smart materials, proficiency in microelectronics, and a deep understanding of chemistry and textile production. The synergy across these diverse fields is vital to unlocking the full potential of smart fabrics and enabling their broad implementation. By embracing this comprehensive approach, we can pave the way for groundbreaking advances in smart textile technology, driving innovation and progress in the field. Full article

Firefighters are exposed to a complex mix of volatile and semi-volatile compounds from burning construction materials, consumer products, and other elements during fire suppression and rescue. These compounds can be absorbed onto the gear worn by firefighters and, depending on their volatility, can be released from the gear under different conditions. Few studies have focused on the off-gassing of toxic compounds from firefighters’ gear, particularly in terms of qualitative analysis methods. This study introduces a novel qualitative analysis method using headspace gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS) to assess off-gassing from field-contaminated jackets at regular intervals. Our findings show that certain compounds, such as acetic acid and di-ethyl-hexyl-phthalate (DEHP), remained present even after the gear were allowed to air out for 48 h. The persistent off-gassing of chemicals, even under ambient conditions, raises concerns about potential hazards that could pose risks for personnel in the vicinity of contaminated gear, including inside fire stations. The implications of these findings extend beyond fire stations and may have significant public health implications for firefighters who are repeatedly exposed to these compounds over time. Full article

Textiles with antimicrobial functionality have been intensively and extensively investigated in the recent decades, mostly because they are present in everyday life in various applications: medicine and healthcare, sportswear, clothing and footwear, furniture and upholstery, air and water purification systems, food packaging etc. Their ability to kill or limit the growth of the microbial population in a certain context defines their activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and even against the initial formation of the biofilm prior to microorganisms’ proliferation. Various classes of antimicrobials have been employed for these highly specialized textiles, namely, organic synthetic reagents and polymers, metals and metal oxides (micro- and nanoparticles), and natural and naturally derived compounds, and their activity and range of applications are critically assessed. At the same time, different modern processing techniques are reviewed in relation to their applications. This paper focuses on some advances and challenges in the field of antimicrobial textiles given their practical importance as it appears from the most recent reports in the literature. Full article

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1851 document provides guidelines for firefighters on the care and maintenance of their PPE, including decontamination practices. Firefighters are exposed to various toxic chemicals during fire suppression activities, making effective decontamination crucial for their safety. This study evaluated the efficacy of different washing parameters, including temperature, time, and surfactants, on cleaning outer-shell material contaminated with nine targeted compounds from three different functional groups: phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and phthalates. The study was conducted on both bench-scale and full-scale levels, with contaminated swatches washed in a water shaker bath in the bench-scale evaluation and full-sized washer extractors used in the full-scale evaluation. The results showed that bench-scale washing demonstrated similar trends in contaminant removal to full-scale washing. Importantly, the study highlighted the complexity of removing fireground contaminants from the personal protective ensemble (PPE). The findings of this study have practical implications for the firefighting industry as they provide insight into the effectiveness of different washing parameters for PPE decontamination. Future studies could explore the impact of repeated washing on PPE and investigate the potential for developing more efficient decontamination strategies. Ultimately, the study underscores the importance of ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of firefighters, who face significant occupational hazards. Full article

Natural fibers are increasingly being used to make nonwoven fabrics, substituting synthetic materials for environmental and economic reasons. In this study, a series of needle-punched nonwoven fabrics were made by extracting fibers from coffee husks and blending them with a proportion of spinning waste consisting of cotton fibers and another five different natural fibers. This work investigates the coefficient of sound absorption, thermal conductivity, areal density, thickness, and air permeability. Overall, the sound absorption properties of the produced nonwoven fabric depend on the blend proportion and the number of layers. The results from the fabric containing nettle and banana fibers demonstrate a much-improved sound absorption coefficient. These results have been compared with those of commercially available nonwoven fabrics that are manufactured from polyester and polyurethane foam. The thermal conductivities of the fabrics made with nettle and coir were the highest and lowest, respectively. This is because of the fiber linear density, but all in all, fibers extracted from coffee husks show significantly promising potential for scaling up to replace existing synthetic fibers. Full article

The objective of this work was to evaluate Turkey red oil as a renewable dispersant and leveling option for dyeing polyester knitted fabric with disperse dyes. The dyeing results were evaluated by measuring the color at several positions of the dyed samples to verify the levelness. In addition, the amount of residual dye was evaluated. Migration tests were also carried out to evaluate the leveling effectiveness of Turkey red oil. Wet rubbing and washing fastness analysis, hydrophilicity, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), surface analysis with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and modification of functional groups by FTIR were also carried out. The results obtained in the analyses show that Turkey red oil is efficient as a dispersant and leveling agent when compared to the well-known sodium naphthalene sulfonate. It is concluded that Turkey red oil reduces the time of the dyeing process and consequently its energy consumption, and reduces the amount of effluent generated while improving hydrophilicity and fastness, thus being a renewable and sustainable option for current products based on petroleum. Full article