Influence of Sodium Bisulfite and Lithium Bromide Solutions on the Shape Fixation of Camel Guard Hairs in Slenderization Process

Abstract

Outstanding performance of natural camel hair has attracted much attention on the effective use of such specialty fiber to apparel textiles. In this paper, sodium bisulfide (SB) and lithium bromide (LB) solutions were used to process the camel guard hair before its slenderization. It is found that camel guard hair processed by SB solution shows the highest breaking elongation (~140%) due to the breakage of disulfide bonds (reflected by Raman spectra). LB ions result in the disruption of hair crystalline phase with slight benefit to the slenderization (determined by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry). IR spectra indicate that hydrogen bonds of camel guard hair act as fixation switch in the programmed tensile test. It is discovered that guard hair reveals the best water-induced shape memory with 90% of stretching shape recovery, whereas the value remained to be 70% and 60% for hair processed by LB and SB solutions after breaking partial crystalline phase and disulfide cross-links separately (polymer net-points). The poorer shape memory of processed guard hair benefits its slenderization for more stable fixation of stretched length.

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of wool fibers having titanium dioxide nanoparticles formed inside their cortex

“…The brightness of circular spots of their x-ray diffraction images shown in figure 7 becomes dull and this indicates that the preferred orientations of the wool fibers obtained from the two schemes are weakened. These indicate that part of the αhelical keratin crystalline regions might have been transformed into irregular β-helical crystals [48] caused by the disordering effect of the swelling agents. Additionally, it is shown in figure 7 that a series of diffraction rings are formed in the peripheries of the arc-shaped zones of the wool fibers obtained in the two schemes, this implies the existences of poly-crystalline TiO 2 nanoparticles with the wool fibers.…”

Photostability of TiO2-Coated Wool Fibers Exposed to Ultraviolet B, Ultraviolet A, and Visible Light Irradiation

“…The valence forces vary according to the type of linkage, and the electrovalent forces include Coulomb forces and Van del Vaal's forces [53]. Therefore, the long-term illumination under UVB/UVA rays or visible light would disorder the margin of α-helical crystalline phase and cause the part of β-helical crystals irregularity [54], leading to the degradation of tensile properties of wool fi bers.…”