Electrically conductive crystalline polylactide nonwovens obtained by electrospinning and modification with multiwall carbon nanotubes.

Polylactide nonwovens were electrospun from solutions and then crystallized, one in α-form, and another, S-PLA, made of poly(l-lactide) and poly(d-lactide) 1:1 blend, in scPLA crystals with high melting temperature, close to 220 °C. To make the nonwovens electrically conductive, they were coated with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) by padding and dip-coating with an aqueous dispersion of MWCNT. The electrical conductivity evidenced the formation of the electrically conductive MWCNT network on the fiber surfaces. Depending on the coating method, the surface resistivity (Rs) of S-PLA nonwoven of 1.0 kΩ/sq and 0.09 kΩ/sq was reached. To study the effect of surface roughness, before the modification the nonwovens were etched with sodium hydroxide, which additionally made them hydrophilic. The effect of etching depended on the coating method and led to an increase or decrease of Rs, in the case of padding or dip-coating, respectively. All MWCNT-modified nonwovens, unetched and etched, were hydrophobic with water contact angles of 138-144°. Scanning electron microscopy corroborated the presence of MWCNT on the fiber surfaces. Impedance spectroscopy confirmed the dominant role of the network of MWCNT direct contacts on the electrical properties of MWCNT-modified nonwovens in a broad frequency range.

Microbiologically Pure Cotton Fabrics Treated with Tetrabutylammonium OXONE as Mild Disinfection Agent.

The microbiological purity of textiles plays a pivotal role in the use of textiles, especially in hospitals and other medical facilities. Microbiological purity of cotton fabric was achieved by a new disinfection method using tetrabutyloammonium OXONE (TBA-OXONE) before washing. As a result of the disinfection, the cotton fabric became microbiologically pure, despite the markedly decreased washing time with respect to the widely used standard procedure. Shortening of the washing time allowed for significant energy savings. In addition, the effect of the number of disinfection and washing cycles on the tensile properties and tearing force of the fabric was examined. After 120 disinfection and washing cycles the mechanical properties of cotton fabric were only slightly worsened.