In order to reutilise the byproducts of foods and crops to benefit the environment and economise on resources, the natural extracts from chestnut shell and black rice bran were applied in the simultaneous dyeing and multifunctionalisation of silk fabrics. In this work, the influence of pH value on dyeing properties was studied. The effects of the ratio of chestnut shell and black rice bran extracts and the application of mordants (aluminium potassium sulphate and ferrous sulphate) on the dyeing performance as well as antiultraviolet and antioxidant properties of treated silk were also discussed. The results showed that deepcoloured silk fabrics can be obtained when dyed with the two natural extracts as the pH value of the dyebath approached 3. The ratio of the two natural extracts and the use of the mordants have significant effects on colour depth, colour hue, colour fastness, and the functionalities of dyed silk fabrics. Combination dyeing and mordanting are able to enrich the colour hues of dyed fabrics. The washing, rubbing, and light fastness of the dyed fabrics after mordanting can be rated higher than grade 4. Moreover, the silk after combination dyeing has good UV protection performance (UPF > 30) and antioxidant activity. In addition, the functionalities of treated fabrics showed excellent washing fastness. This study reveals that chestnut shell and black rice bran extracts are suitable as natural colourants and multifunctional finishing agents for the preparation of coloured and multifunctional silk materials.

WO3nanowires directly grown on graphene sheets have been fabricated by using a seed-mediated hydrothermal method. The morphologies and electrochemical performance of WO3films prepared by different process were studied. The results show that the precoated nanoseeds and graphene sheets on graphite electrode provide more reactive centers for the nucleation and formation of uniform WO3nanowires. The WO3nanowires electrode exhibits a high area specific capacitance of 800 mF cm−2over negative potential range from −1.0 V to 0 V versus SCE in 1 M Li2SO4solution. A high performance electrochemical supercapacitor assembled with WO3nanowires as negative electrode and PANI/MnO2as positive electrodes over voltage range of 1.6 V displays a high volumetric capacitance of 2.5 F cm−3, which indicate great potential applications of WO3nanowires on graphene sheets as negative electrode for energy storage devices.

No abstract