Lightweight bulletproof vests and shirts:
Nanotechnologists have come up with a super strong, flexible fiber that can conduct heat and electricity. It could be made into a modern version of chain mail, the heavy metal mesh worn by medieval knights. If woven from the new fiber, modern chain mail could be light as a cotton shirt, but bulletproof.
Carbon nanotubes are used for these purposes that are light and flexible, but enormously strong. They also can conduct heat and electricity. This new fiber is four times tougher than spider silk, and 17 times tougher than Kevlar, now used to make bulletproof vests. This contains miniscule rolled-up sheets of carbon atoms that can be found naturally in soot.
Colour changing property:
Scientists have developed an innovative process to combine extremely thin layers of two materials, a plastic and a glass. This result in a new fiber that can reflect all the light that hits it, from any direction. The uniforms made from these threads make an optical bar code that will help soldiers distinguish friend from foe on night patrol, or during the smoke and confusion of a firefight.
Waterproof and Germ proof:
Nanoscale coatings are used to make military clothing and blankets that would repel microbes as well as water, but would look and feel like untreated fabric. To make ordinary cotton waterproof, a process has been patented, called hot filament chemical vapor deposition. Plastic molecules in gas form are used. When the gas is heated by filaments, or wires, inside a metal vacuum chamber that resembles a toaster, a chemical reaction causes the gas molecules to change shape. On fabric, this change forms waterproofing that leaves it lightweight and comfortable to wear. The coating is also very thin. This waterproofing fabric is combined with an extremely thin anti-microbial coating to make the fabric waterproof and germ proof. This thought is studied from lotus leaves, which have a natural cleaning mechanism.
Cleaner kids clothes:
To make these types of clothes, the principle of nanotechnology, to improve the strength and durability of natural fibers like cotton, is used. This needs to create tiny structures called "Nanowhiskers," tiny hairs that make liquid spills bead up and roll right off fabric. This property can be seen in the fuzzy fruit "peach". This is because these fruits have little pointed whiskers on its surface.
The Nanowhiskers can repel stains because they form a cushion of air around each cotton fiber. When something is spilled on the surface of the fabric, the miniature whiskers actually cohesively prop up the liquid drops, allowing the liquid drops to roll off. This stain-proofing process is said to be as Nano-Care.
Nano-dry for enhanced fabrics will be able to move perspiration away from the body, while drying quickly. Nano-touch gives man-made fabrics the feel and comfort of natural fabrics.
Nano dyeing:
Dyeing can also be done via nanotechnology. One of the commonly available nanoparticles is nanoclay. It is possible in the modification process to introduce some chemical groups onto the surface of the nanoclay. This would provide the desired dye affinity in the system in which the nanoclay is evenly distributed within the material structure depending on the dye classes to be used.
CONCLUSION:
Recent applications of nanotechnology in textiles have been presented in this article. These applications and developments show that this technology will emerge to dominate the textile field in the future.
References:
1. Chand, S.: Review: Carbon fibers for composites, Journal of Material Science 2000, Vol.36, Issue 1303.
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http://webpages.sdsmt.edu/~hfong/1.html.
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http://www.ntcresearch.org/pdf-rpts/AnRp01.
5. Jirsak, O. Bharanitharan, R.; Nano Fibers And Its Applications., High Performance Textiles And Apparels, 2004.
