Totito Thandiwe Crystal, Laatikainen Katri, Bode-Aluko Chris, Pereao Omoniyi, Petrik Leslie
Environmental and Nanoscience Research Group, Department of Chemistry, University of the Western Cape, Private Bag X17, Bellville 7535, South Africa.
Department of Separation Science, School of Engineering Science, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT, Yliopistonkatu 34, FIN-53850 Lappeenranta, Finland.
Polymers (Basel). 2023 Jan 13;15(2):442. doi: 10.3390/polym15020442.
Textile single-use products are dominantly used for hygiene and personal care, many of which are non-biodegradable and are frequently discarded into sewerage systems, thus causing blockages. Thus, there is a need to move towards water-soluble textiles. This research study focuses on transforming or repurposing biomass material and synthetic reusable waste plastic materials to improve waste. Chitosan (CS) nanofibers could be used in single-use nonwoven fabric or biodegradable tissues, as the water-soluble properties of chitosan nanofibers make them the perfect material for single-use applications. Furthermore, CS was blended with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer and PET-based waste plastic (CS-WPET) to slow the CS nanofibers' water degradability and strengthen the durability of the nanofiber which could be used as air filters. The CS-TFA and CS-TFA/DCM nanofiber diameters were 95.58 ± 39.28 nm or 907.94 ± 290.18 nm, respectively, as measured from the HRSEM images. The CS-PET and CS-WPET hybrid nanofibers had fiber diameters of 246.13 ± 96.36 or 58.99 ± 20.40 nm, respectively. The thermal durability of the nanofibers was tested by TGA, which showed that CS-TFA/DCM nanofibers had sufficient thermal stability up to 150 °C, making them suitable for filter or fabric use at moderate temperatures. The blended nanofibers (CS-PET and CS-WPET) were thermally stable up to 160 °C. In the aqueous medium stability test, CS-PET and CS-WPET hybrid nanofibers had a slower degradation rate and were easily dissolved, while the CS nanofibers were rapidly and completely dissolved in an aqueous medium. Blending waste PET with CS allows it to be recycled into a useful single-use, non-woven textile, with greater water solubility than unmodified PET nanofibers but more durability than CS nanofibers on their own.
一次性纺织产品主要用于卫生和个人护理，其中许多是不可生物降解的，经常被丢弃到污水系统中，从而造成堵塞。因此，有必要转向水溶性纺织品。本研究致力于将生物质材料和合成可重复使用的废塑料材料进行转化或重新利用，以改善废弃物处理。壳聚糖（CS）纳米纤维可用于一次性无纺布或可生物降解组织，因为壳聚糖纳米纤维的水溶性使其成为一次性应用的理想材料。此外，将CS与聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（PET）聚合物和基于PET的废塑料（CS-WPET）混合，以减缓CS纳米纤维的水解速度，并增强纳米纤维的耐久性，该纳米纤维可用作空气过滤器。从高分辨率扫描电子显微镜（HRSEM）图像测量，CS-TFA和CS-TFA/DCM纳米纤维直径分别为95.58±39.28纳米或907.94±290.18纳米。CS-PET和CS-WPET混合纳米纤维的纤维直径分别为246.13±96.36纳米或58.99±20.40纳米。通过热重分析（TGA）测试纳米纤维的热耐久性，结果表明CS-TFA/DCM纳米纤维在高达150°C时具有足够的热稳定性，使其适合在中等温度下用于过滤器或织物。混合纳米纤维（CS-PET和CS-WPET）在高达160°C时具有热稳定性。在水性介质稳定性测试中，CS-PET和CS-WPET混合纳米纤维的降解速度较慢且易于溶解，而CS纳米纤维在水性介质中迅速且完全溶解。将废PET与CS混合可使其回收再利用为有用的一次性无纺布，其水溶性比未改性的PET纳米纤维更高，但耐久性比单独的CS纳米纤维更强。
