Source:Textile Review

This article summarizes the recentdevelopment of nanotechnology in textile areas including textile formation andtextile finishing. Details on two major technical aspects, using nanosizeentities and employing specific techniques to create nanosize structure insidetextile materials, have been elucidated. A number of nanosize fillers and theirresultant performances have been reviewed.

This article summarizes the recent development ofnanotechnology in textile areas including textile formation and textilefinishing. Details on two major technical aspects, using nanosize entities andemploying specific techniques to create nanosize structure inside textilematerials, have been elucidated. A number of nanosize fillers and their resultantperformances have been reviewed. Particularly, nano-Iayer assembly, a newconcept of textile surface coating, has been introduced .At the end,perspectives regarding future development of nanotechnology for smart andintelligent textiles have been addressed. This paper also highlightensnanotechnology revolutions, the applications of nanoscience and nanotechnology,commercially available products, and the innovations of nanotechnology intextiles.

Nanotechnology is an emerging interdisciplinary technologythat has been booming in many areas during the recent decade, includingmaterials science, mechanics, electronics, optics, medicine, plastics, energy,electronics, and aerospace. Its profound societal impact has been considered asthe huge momentum to usher in a second industrial revolution. The"nanD" in nanotechnolgy comes from the Greek word "nanos"that means dwarf. Scientists use this prefix to indicate 1 0-9 orone-billionth. One nanometer is one-billionth meter that is about 1 00,000times smaller than the diameter of a single human hair. Nanotechnologyendeavors are aimed at manipulating atoms, molecules and nanosize particles ina precise and controlled manner in order to build materials with afundamentally new organization and novel properties. The embryo ofnanotechnology is "atomic assembly", which was first publiclyarticulated in 1959 by physicist Richard Feynman. Nanotechnology is called a"bottom up" technology by which bulk materials can be built preciselyin tiny building blocks, different from the traditional manufacture "topdown" technology. Therefore, resultant materials have fewer defects andhigher quality. The fundamentals of nanotechnology lie in the fact thatproperties of substances dramatically change when their size is reduced to thenanometer range. When a ulk material is divided into small size particles withone or more dimension (length, width, or thickness) in the nanometer range oreven smaller, the individual particles exhibit unexpected properties, differentfrom those of the bulk material. It is known that atoms and molecules possesstotally different behaviors than those of bulk materials; while the propertiesof the former are described by quantum mechanics, the properties of the latterare governed by classic mechanics. Between these two distinct domains, thenanometer range is a murky threshold for the transition of a material'sbehavior. For example, ceramics, which normally are brittle, can easily be madedeformable when their grain size is reduced to the low nanometer range. A goldparticle of 1 nm across shows red color. Moreover, a small amount of nanosizespecies can interfere with matrix polymer that is usually in the similar sizerange, bringing up the performance of resultant system to an unprecedented level.These are the reasons why nanotechnology has attracted large amounts of federalfunding, research activity and media attention. The textile industry hasalready impacted by nanotechnology. Research involving nanotechnology toimprove performances or to create unprecedented functions of textile materialsare flourishing. These research endeavors are mainly focused on using nanosizesubstances and generating nanostructures during manufacturing and finishingprocesses.

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About The Authors:

Yogesh D. Chinchole & Ram U.Saraskar are in 3^rd Year Textile Engg. from Anuradham Engg.College, Chikhli

Originally published in "Textile Review": December 2009