Machine-Washable Smart Textiles with Photothermal and Antibacterial Activities from Nanocomposite Fibers of Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles and Polyacrylonitrile

Abstract

Smart textiles based on conjugated polymers have been highlighted as promising fabrics that can intelligently respond to environmental stimuli based on the electrical properties of polymer semiconductors. However, there has been limited interest in the photothermal properties of conjugated polymers that can be applied to smart textiles. We prepared nanoparticles by assembling a conjugated polymer with a fatty acid via an emulsion process and nanocomposite fibers by distributing the conjugated polymer nanoparticles in a polyacrylonitrile matrix. We then fabricated the textiles using the fibers. The resulting fabrics based on nanocomposite fibers show a temperature increase to 50 °C in 10 min under white light irradiation because of efficient photothermal conversion by the conjugated polymer light harvester, while the temperature of a pristine polyacrylonitrile fabric increases to only 35 °C. In addition, excellent antimicrobial activity was confirmed by a 99.9% decrease in the populations of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli over 24 h because of the effect of the fatty acid in the nanocomposite films and fabrics. Furthermore, the fabric showed efficient durability after a laundry test, suggesting the usefulness of these smart textiles based on conjugated polymer nanoparticles for practical applications.

Investigating the Impact of Washing Cycles on Silver-Plated Textile Electrodes: A Complete Study

“…The need to study the impact of the washing process on textronics was underlined back in 2004 [4] and it is all the more relevant that smart textiles are on the edge of being commercialized [5]. However, few research papers have tackled this particular issue until now, although it can be noted that the washability aspect of recent developments is more clearly taken into account [6][7][8]. However, as noted by Zaman et al [9], there is a lack of standardizations on the washing process to be followed, the detergent to use and the number of washing cycles required to claim that a smart textile is really washable.…”

“…However, as noted by Zaman et al [9], there is a lack of standardizations on the washing process to be followed, the detergent to use and the number of washing cycles required to claim that a smart textile is really washable. As a result, among the few studies that can be found in the literature on the subject, smart garment prototypes are claimed washable according to various standards: ISO 6330:2000 [10,11], ISO 105-C01 [12] or ISO15797 [11], method 61-2010 of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC, Table 1) [6]. Hence, the utmost importance of the current work of research groups to provide a consensus standard with normalized tests for assessing the launderability and reliability of e-textiles, which is complex due to their heterogeneous nature.…”

Functional Fibers, Composites and Textiles Utilizing Photothermal and Joule Heating

“…Thus, CPNs can be widely examined as photothermal therapeutic agents, photoacoustic probes, and photocatalysts in aqueous-based applications. In addition, they could be incorporated into functional fibers via a solution spinning process utilizing DMF and DMSO [101,102]. Another advantage of CPNs is that they can present optoelectronic properties similar to those of their bulk or thin-film states.…”

“…In comparison, conjugated polymer backbones inside CPNs are isolated from the surrounding polar media, and thus, their optoelectronic properties can be significantly preserved. In addition, the stacking of π-conjugated backbones as in films of conjugated polymers with ordered assembly structures is possible, resulting in a bathochromic shift in their absorption spectra by intermolecular π-electron delocalization, as shown in the absorption spectra of poly [2,6- [102]. As a result, the NIR absorption and heat emission properties of CPNs are significantly enhanced.…”

“…Textiles based on CPNs have been presented using CPNs prepared from a solution spinning process. CPNs of PCPDTBT and OA have been prepared as a dispersion in DMSO via the emulsification process, and the resulting solution was mixed with a DMSO solution of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) at 18 wt % ( Figure 7) [102]. When CPNs were formed via the emulsion process in DMSO, their shapes were spherical, with a diameter of 190 nm, which differed from the ellipsoidal shape after processing in DMF.…”