Few chemical textiles enter the commercial market

New fibers spun directly from two-dimensional materials instead of polymers may bring a technological revolution to the most advanced fiber industry. In recent years, two-dimensional materials such as graphene, MoS2 and MXene have shown extraordinary molecular-level performance in energy storage, sensing, separation and catalysis. However, their large-scale manufacturing and processing for practical applications is still in its infancy. Professor Gao Wei's team used this new set of two-dimensional crystals to study fiber formation technology, providing a basis for understanding their fiber formation mechanism. The picture on the right shows a knitted fabric made of graphene fibers, which can be used as a battery to store and transfer electrical energy. (July 2018)

Few chemical textiles enter the commercial market. The development of electronic textiles has been extensively studied, but due to long-term problems in durability and performance, they have little commercial success. To overcome this challenge, Professor Janie Woodbridge is studying existing electronic textiles and is committed to developing a multi-layer woven conductive fabric with an integrated support system. This will provide additional durability, more comfort for the wearer, and better protection of sensitive, often fragile, conductive fibers. Improved performance will expand the usability of electronic textiles and make them more commercially valuable. (July 2018)

Further development of carbon dioxide capture technology is critical to the series of methods needed to slow the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels that cause climate change. By combining the high surface area properties of micron and sub-micron fibers with the rapid CO2 absorption enhancement catalyzed by carbonic anhydrase, new reactive filter materials are being developed for CO2 gas separation applications. Dr. Salmon and her collaborators explored the use of different polymer chemistries and fiber formation methods to capture enzymes in the polymer matrix of fibers to develop new biocatalytic textiles for carbon dioxide washing and other advanced textile applications. (April 2018)

The goal of Dr. Xu and her research team is to develop a heat compress similar to clothes. The textile patch antenna consists of a conductive patch, a ground plane and an insulator in between. Aiming at the problem of accurate characterization of the dielectric layer, an Ansys high-frequency structure simulator (HFSS) was used to establish a theoretical model, and a series of prototype antennas were fabricated. Based on the verification of the antenna design and production, the three-dimensional features are integrated into the system design, and the antenna is redesigned to adapt to the forming equipment. The research helps to make the heat distribution in hyperthermia more uniform and improve the wear resistance of the equipment. (April 2018)

Nanofibers are an important class of materials that are useful in various applications, including filtration, tissue engineering, protective clothing, composite materials, battery separators, and energy storage. Electrospinning is currently the most studied method of nanofiber production. However, the low production efficiency, poor safety, and high cost of electrospinning limit its wide commercial application. Most other nanofiber production methods, such as phase separation, template synthesis, and self-assembly, are complex and can only be used to make nanofibers from a limited type of materials. Professor Zhang Xiangwu and his team use a simple but versatile technology to produce nanofibers of various materials, including polymers, carbon, ceramics, metals, and composite materials. Centrifugal spinning eliminates the limitations of existing nanofiber production methods, and can produce nanofibers quickly and at low cost. The team has developed various centrifugal-spun nanofibers for applications in energy storage, chemical and biological protection, biomedical materials, and laser ultrasound. (April 2018)