Chapter 3Nanosols for Smart Textiles
Boris Mahltig
Hochschule Niederrhein, Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology, Mönchengladbach, Germany
Email: mahltig@gmx.de
Abstract
Nanosols are innovative coating agents useable for the functionalization and finishing of textile materials. Nanosols are based on inorganic particles in nanometer scale produced by sol–gel technology, which are stabilized in solvents – mainly ethanol, iso-propanol or water. One main advantage of this type of coating agent is that the agents can be modified with simple methods in a broad range, and by this, a variety of new and smart functions can be realized on textile surfaces. However, for application on textiles, there is also a main challenge; this is the realization of sol–gel systems using water as the main solvent. Due to stability reasons, nanosols are often prepared with organic solvents, which are from the point of flammability, safety reasons and cost often not wished.
This chapter will introduce the preparation and modification of nanosols especially dedicated to the application on textiles to realize functional and smart materials. Examples of the realization of water-based sol–gel coating agents are given. Special focus is set on photocatalytic/light responsive materials, antimicrobial systems and controlled release systems.
Keywords: Sol–gel technology, inorganic nanoparticle coating, photocatalysis, antimicrobial, controlled release
3.1 Introduction
The sol–gel technology is probably one ...
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