Natural rubber particle modified fabrics with catalytic activity and hydrophobicity

doi:10.1016/j.compscitech.2018.04.027

Composites Science and Technology

Volume 162, 7 July 2018, Pages 123-130

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2018.04.027 Get rights and content

Abstract

We report a novel and facile approach to fabricate functional fabrics using environment-friendly waterborne natural rubber latex (NRL) containing in-situ synthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). AuNPs were prepared and decorated on the surface of the natural rubber particles (NRPs) by heating, forming a dual-scale hierarchical architecture. The hybrid particles of NRPs and AuNPs (AuNP@NRP) were coated on cotton and hydrophilic polyester fabric surfaces, endowing the fabrics with catalytic and hydrophobic features. The treated fabrics with low loadings of AuNP@NRP exhibited high catalytic activity for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) by NaBH₄ and could be reused, after easy separation from the catalytic reaction system, with excellent durability. In addition, the hydrophobicity of fabrics increased as coating cycles increased. The obtained hydrophobic fabrics were used for oil/water separation, showing high separation efficiency (>96%).

Introduction

Various strategies have been developed to impart fabrics with functional properties such as antibacterial activity, electric conductivity, UV protection, flame retarding and self-cleaning [[1], [2], [3], [4], [5]]. One of the most efficient approaches for fabricating functional fabrics is to incorporate nanoparticles on their surface, which can be completed by modifying either the fabric surface or the nanoparticle fillers, or a combination of both [[6], [7], [8]]. In addition, there is an increasing requirement from consumers and manufacturers that the functional textiles should be low-cost, environment-friendly, and preferably based on sustainable raw materials.

Cotton, as a traditional natural fibrous material, has been widely used in textile industry due to its abundance, degradability and eco-friendliness [[9], [10], [11]]. A number of methods including in-situ preparation and assembling strategy have been attempted to develop multifunctional cotton products, endowing them with properties such as catalytic activity and hydrophobicity. For example, a catalytic fabric containing Pd nanoparticles was developed by incorporating polydopamine on cotton fiber surface, acting as a reducing agent for the growth of Pd nanoparticles [12]. Yang et al. developed an approach to prepare functional textile by assembling various gold nanoparticles with positive charges to the cotton fiber surface through electrostatic interaction and the treated fabric had good catalytic performance for chemical reactions [13]. In addition, cotton fabric has also been used as a supporting material for fabricating hydrophobic or super-hydrophobic materials, which are usually achieved through a combination of appropriate surface roughness and materials with a low surface energy [14]. Recently, special wettability materials based on eco-friendly natural biomass have been developed. Gao and co-workers reported an oil/water separation material with high adsorption capacity and excellent recyclability, which was prepared by directly carbonizing polar catkins [15]. Besides, a potato residue coated stainless steel mesh without any further chemical modification was used for oil/water separation by spraying waste potato residue powders and water polyurethane mixtures on the mesh [16]. Though a variety of approaches have been successfully established to fabricate catalytic and high hydrophobic textiles [[17], [18], [19], [20]], it is still of great importance to develop facile, inexpensive and eco-friendly processing routes.

Natural rubber latex (NRL) is a principle feedstock of rubber material used for fabricating tires, dipping goods and coating products in the conventional transportation field and the hygienic and medical sectors [[21], [22], [23]]. As a natural bio-based polymer, NRL is gradually becoming an attractive candidate for preparing functional nanocomposite because of its excellent elasticity, film-forming properties and sustainability. It has been demonstrated that NRL can be used as a structure–directing agent to synthesize stable mesostructured titania exhibiting high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of phenol and rhodamine B under solar light [24]. Natural rubber-based hollow latex particles have also been developed by Wichaita et al. through seeded emulsion polymerization polymer on natural rubber seed [25]. The results showed that the large surface areas of these natural rubber-based hollow nanocomposites with a 3.5 nm pore diameter were suited as delivery vehicle systems. Xia et al. developed a novel conductive natural rubber nanocomposites based on graphene oxide through assembling and latex mixing, fabricating an efficient conductive network due to the assembly of graphene on the surface of rubber latex particles [26]. It is apparent that waterborne NRL is an environment friendly material in comparison to synthetic polymer. To the best of our knowledge, little has been reported on functionalization of textiles with modified NRL nanocomposites.

Herein, we developed a novel and facile approach to fabricate multifunctional fabrics using natural rubber particles (NRPs) combining with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The hybrid particles of NRP and AuNPs (AuNP@NRP) were fabricated through in-situ synthesis of AuNPs in natural rubber latex matrix by heat reduction of HAuCl₄ without additional reducing or capping agent. Fabrics were successfully modified with AuNP@NRP using a conventional “dip and dry” approach. Optical features, surface morphologies and wettability properties were analyzed with various characterization techniques. The effect of the coating cycles on the catalysis and wettability of the fabrics was investigated. The treated fabrics not only exhibited notable catalytic activity, but also demonstrated remarkable hydrophobic property. Furthermore, the hydrophobic fabrics treated with AuNP@NRP were used as oil/water separation materials to good effect. Many hydrophobic or superhydrophobic materials have been developed for oil/water separation. However, most of them were prepared using hazardous chemicals. The present work is focused on developing environmentally friendly and facile approach to fabricate novel functional material for oil/water separation. Both natural rubber and cotton are sustainable. Also, the obtained material in this study work exhibited good performance for oil/water separation, comparable with the most published work.

Section snippets

Materials

Tetrachloroauric (III) acid trihydrate (HAuCl₄·3H₂O, >99%), 4-nitrophenol (≥99%), and sodium borohydride (NaBH₄ >98%) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. All chemicals were analytic grade reagents, and used without further purification. Cotton and polyester fabrics were obtained from Spotlight Australia. Prevulcanized NRL was obtained from a local retailer, the dry rubber content of the NRL was around 60 wt%. They were used as received.

Instruments

Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectra of solutions

In-situ preparation of AuNP@NRP

Hybrid colloids of AuNP@NRP composed of NRPs and AuNPs were obtained through in-situ synthesis of AuNPs in NRL matrix. The color changed from cream white to red after the mixture of NRL and HAuCl₄ was heated (inset in Fig. 2), which implies that AuNPs were synthesized in NRL. A single absorption band appeared at 538 nm in the UV–Vis absorption spectrum after heat treatment, attributed to localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) mode of AuNPs [27,28]. Pristine NRL was dominated by spherical

Conclusions

Functional cotton and polyester fabrics were fabricated through coating a nanocomposite of natural rubber particles (NRPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The complex nanostructure (AuNP@NRP) was obtained using a green and in-situ approach without additional reducing and capping agent. The simple “dip and dry” method achieved the modification of the surface of fabrics by AuNP@NRP, leading to a dual-scale hierarchical architecture on fiber surface. The assembled AuNP@NRP uniformly distributed on

Acknowledgements

This research was largely undertaken at Deakin University with the support of China Scholarship Council (CSC, No. 201508460037). We would also like to acknowledge research support from the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (No. 2014A030307041) and the Fundamental Scientific Research Funds from Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) (No. 1630122017012 and 1630122017009).

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Natural rubber particle modified fabrics with catalytic activity and hydrophobicity

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Materials

Instruments

In-situ preparation of AuNP@NRP

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

Carbohydr. Polym.

Appl. Surf. Sci.

Chem. Eng. J.

Appl. Surf. Sci.

J. Clean. Prod.

Nanomater. Energy

Compos. Sci. Technol.

Adv. Colloid Interface Sci.

Polymer

J. Biosci. Bioeng.

Biomacromolecules

Mater. Lett.

Electrochim. Acta

Eur. Polym. J.

Carbohydr. Polym.

Surf. Coating. Technol.

Polym. Test.

Catal. Commun.

Appl. Catal., B

J. Hazard Mater.

Silver-nanoparticle-colored cotton fabrics with tunable colors and durable antibacterial and self-Healing superhydrophobic properties

Adv. Funct. Mater.

Chemical and water protective surface on cotton fabric by pad-knife-pad coating of WPU-PDMS-TMS

Cellulose

Construction of hydrophobic surfaces on polyvinylidene fluoride film and cotton fabric using perfluorohexane functionalized carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide

Textil. Res. J.

Durable antibacterial cotton modified by silver nanoparticles and chitosan derivative binder

Fibers Polym.

Asymmetric superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic cotton fabrics designed by spraying Polymer and nanoparticles

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

Cotton-textile-enabled flexible self-sustaining power packs via roll-to-roll fabrication

Nat. Commun.

Mussel-inspired functionalization of cotton for nano-catalyst support and its application in a fixed-bed system with high performance

Sci. Rep.