Metals and metal oxides nano-particles
Nano-size particles of Pd/Pt, Ag and Fe can be applied on textiles to impart antibacterial, conductive magnetic properties and remote heating properties. Silver has been used for the treatment of medical ailments for over 100 years due to its natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Nano-silver particles are widely applied in socks to prohibit the growth of bacterial. In addition, nano-silver can be applied to a range of other healthcare products such as dressings for burns, scald, and skin donor and recipient sites.
Nano-silver particles can be applied on textiles by padding method with good laundering durability. Hoon Joo Lee and Song Hoon Jeong have reported that nano-sized silver colloids and nano-silver treated polyester nonwovens have good bacteriostasis. Water based and ethanol based nano-silver colloids with spherical nano-particals of diameter 2-5 nm can be applied to polyester nonwoven fabric. It has been reported that the growth of bacteria colonies is absolutely inhibited with only 10 ppm colloidal silver nano-particles.
Nano-size particles of TiO2, ZnO, Al2O3, and MgO are a group of metal oxide that possesses photo catalytic ability, electrical conductivity, UV absorption, and photo-oxidising capacity against chemical and biological species. Intensive research involving the nono-particles of metal oxides have been focusing on antimicrobial, self decontaminating, and UV blocking functions for both military protection gears and civilian health products. Nylon fibre filled with ZnO nano-particles can provide UV shielding function and reducing static electricity of nylon fibre. A composite fibre with nano-particles of TiO2/MgO can provide self-sterilising function.
TiO2 and MgO nano-particles can be entrapped into a textile fibres during the spinning process or incorporated into a textile material via normal textile finishing methods with a resultant material having chemical and biological protective performance.Cellulose fibre filled with nano-particles of metal oxides (such as TiO2) from in situ synthesis can be used as a catalyst in fuel cells .
