Chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibers with antibacterial activity were prepared by the electrospinning of a chitosan/PVA solution with a small amount of silver nitrate (AgNO 3 ) and titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ). Nanofibers with diameters of 270-360 nm were obtained. The yield of low-viscosity chitosan (LCS)/PVA nanofibers was higher than that of high-viscosity chitosan (HCS)/PVA, and the water content of the HCS/PVA nanofibers and the LCS/PVA nanofibers were 430 and 390%, respectively. The nanofibers developed in this study exhibited antibacterial activities of 99 and 98% against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, respectively.

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This study reports on the effects of nucleating agents on morphology, charging, and electrostatic filtration performance of polypropylene meltblown webs. Two commercial nucleating agents, DMDBS (3:2, 4‐bis(3,4‐dimethyldibenzylidene) sorbitol) and NA11 (sodium 2,2′‐methylene‐bis(4,6‐di‐tertbutylphenyl)‐phosphate) were compared. It is hypothesized that faster solidification brought about by the addition of the nucleating agents may be responsible for the slight increase in fiber diameter and concomitant reduction in web solidity. Samples were charged at room temperature as well as at elevated temperatures. Upon thermal charging, significant enhancement in the electrostatic potential and filtration performance of the webs was observed. Particularly, the stability of electrostatic filtration performance was found to be promising with the addition of these polarizable additives. Dielectric spectroscopy tests confirmed an increase in capacitance for samples containing nucleating agents. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1533–1539, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers

It is widely recognized that nonwoven basis weight uniformity affects various properties of nonwovens, including appearance, physical properties, or mechanical properties. However, it is one of the nonwoven characteristics that is most difficult to characterize. This paper reports on the methodology based on the well-known quadrant method that objectively quantifies uniformity of nonwoven fabrics.

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