Table of Content

10 August 2025, Volume 33 Issue 08

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Preparation of fabric-based conductive composites and their application progress in electroluminescent devices

ZHANG Ning, YANG Qun, SU Juan, ZHOU Siyu, LI Ruimiao, WANG Jiping

2025, 33(08):  1-9.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202411042

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With the development of smart wearable devices and flexible electronics, electroluminescent devices, characterized by high brightness, low energy consumption, and fast response, have gradually become a research hotspot. Electroluminescent devices not only provide rich visual information and immersive experiences but also offer excellent comfort and portability. They exhibit broad application prospects, especially in various fields such as smart clothing, health monitoring, smart homes and display technology.
Fabric-based conductive composites, known for their lightweight, breathable, flexible and freely cuttable properties, offer significant design freedom and comfort for wearable devices. By integrating with various luminescent elements, these composites can provide stable electrical support for electroluminescent devices. Such materials can be obtained through methods such as coating, impregnation, in-situ polymerization, lamination, 3D printing, and electrospinning. Combining fabric-based conductive composites with electroluminescent devices through techniques such as scraping, spraying, hot pressing, and printing allows for the preparation of flexible, conductive, fabric-based electroluminescent devices that integrate the flexibility of fabrics with electroluminescent effects. These devices can conform to the contours of the human body, maintaining stable luminescent performance even under bending, stretching, deformation, and puncturing, and can withstand high temperatures, high humidity environments, and repeated washing. Therefore, they have broad applications in fields like fashion design, smart homes, health monitoring, and motion tracking. Despite some progress in the application of fabric-based conductive composites in electroluminescent devices, several challenges and issues remain. These primarily include poor material stability and durability, difficulties in combining rigid materials with textile materials, limited battery life, feasibility concerns for large-scale production, and cost control.
With the introduction of new materials and technologies, particularly the convergence of smart textiles with the Internet of Things, fabric-based conductive composites and electroluminescent devices are poised to embrace new opportunities for application. Driven by these opportunities, it is imperative to overcome the challenges of material stability and durability, and further optimize manufacturing costs and processes. Furthermore, environmental friendliness and recyclability will become important considerations. To address these challenges, it is necessary to systematically analyze the technical bottlenecks in the wearable industry, enhance material performance, and develop conductive composites with higher stability and durability. Meanwhile, by introducing automated and intelligent production equipment, production efficiency can be improved. Furthermore, optimizing the preparation process by simplifying it and selecting more economical materials while ensuring performance will be crucial. In the future, electroluminescent devices are poised to play a greater role in display technology, lighting, and wearable electronic devices. 


Research on the identification of key common technologies based on LDA algorithm: A case study of the intelligent textile industry

XU Ling, ZHENG Jingran, WANG Yaogang, ZHANG Ke, ZHU Wenxing

2025, 33(08):  10-18.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202411019

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Research on key generic technologies serves as a crucial support for advancing the innovative development of China's manufacturing industry. Accurate identification of key generic technologies has become a significant impetus for accelerating the transformation and upgrading of the industry. After extensively reviewing relevant references, it is found that research on the identification of key generic technologies has been applied in fields such as new materials, artificial intelligence, and new energy. However, no scholars have conducted relevant research in the textile and garment industry to date. Therefore, this paper focuses on the field of textile and garment, identifies the key generic technologies in this field, and provides substantive guidance and suggestions for relevant enterprises and departments.
    Firstly, the patent database of China National Intellectual Property Administration is used as the data source to collect patent data in the field of intelligent textiles. Based on the patent data, preprocessing operations are conducted. Subsequently, feature keyword extraction and the construction of a network relationship diagram are carried out to gain a preliminary understanding of the patent data, including the key classifications and correlation of patents in this industry. Secondly, the LDA topic model is used to uncover hidden high-intensity technical topics. Then, screening is conducted based on the "co-occurrence" and "criticality" of these technical topics. The co-occurrence degree of technical topics is evaluated through the co-occurrence rate index, so as to summarize the generic technologies. Afterwards, network analysis methods are applied, and the criticality of each node is quantified using three topological indicators: degree centrality, closeness centrality and structure holes. This further identifies the key generic technologies.
    The field of intelligent textiles represents the level of automation, informatization, intellectualization and digitalization of the entire industry, playing a significant role in promoting the digital transformation and high-quality development of the entire industry. Therefore, this paper focuses on the field of intelligent textiles within the textile and garment sector. The results indicate that graphene fibers, flexible nanofibers, polyurethane finishing agents, intelligent sewing technology, superhydrophobic coating technology, sensors, hydrogel conductive technology, carbon fiber composites, grafting technology, and 3D printing technology are the key generic technologies in this field. Finally, according to the identification results and the current development trends of the industry, substantive guidance and suggestions are provided for relevant enterprises and governments. It is recommended that related enterprises choose sustainable materials, manage production processes environmentally friendly, and strengthen technological innovation. For relevant governments, it is suggested to actively promote the concept of circular economy to relevant enterprises and consumers, and issue strong incentive policies to encourage enterprises to strive for upward development.


Preparation and properties of ethylene propylene elastic composite yarns

FU Zhenzhoua, DAI Jiamua, WEI Fayunb, ZHANG Guangyua, ZHANG Weia

2025, 33(08):  19-25.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202410024

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Elastic fibers are widely used in many fields due to their low modulus, high elongation and excellent elasticity. Currently, the main types of elastic fibers on the market include polyurethane, polyolefin and polyether ester elastic fibers. However, polyurethane fibers are mostly prepared by solution spinning, which involves the use of organic solvents that can cause serious environmental pollution. Although environmentally friendly non-isocyanate polyurethane has improved in terms of environmental protection, its production cost is relatively high. Polyether ester elastic fibers suffer from inadequate elastic recovery and elastic stability. Conventional polyolefin elastic fibers have problems of poor hygroscopicity and obvious stress relaxation, which severely limit their applications in scenarios requiring high elastic recovery and stability. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a new type of elastic fiber or yarn.
Currently, the main improvement strategies for polyolefin fibers primarily involve mechanical blending to enhance their toughness. However, these methods are constrained by the melt processing feasibility of the modified materials and their compatibility with the polyolefin matrix, making it challenging to address defects such as hygroscopicity and stress relaxation. Chemical modification methods are complex and costly, especially the application research of the polyolefin fiber in core-spun yarns is even more scarce, which restricts its further development and application. In this paper, the ethylene-propylene copolymer Vistamaxx (VM) was selected as the polyolefin matrix to prepare elastic fibers through the melt spinning process. The effect of spinning temperature on the mechanical properties of the fibers was investigated. By adjusting the spinning temperature, the breaking elongation, strength, and cyclic tensile properties of the fibers were observed to find out the most suitable spinning temperature for VM fiber preparation. Different types of outer fibers, including cotton, aramid, and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), were selected to prepare core-spun yarns, and further analysis was conducted on the improvement in mechanical properties and other aspects of these yarns. The results showed that Vistamaxx 6202 exhibited more balanced rheological properties, and the prepared fibers had a smooth surface without obvious defects or cracks. Additionally, when the spinning temperature was 175 ℃, the polyolefin fibers demonstrated optimal breaking elongation and cyclic tensile properties. In addition, wrapping the fibers with UHMWPE, aramid, and cotton significantly enhanced the yarn strength and durability while maintaining fiber elasticity. The prepared polyolefin core-spun yarns were uniformly wrapped, with no exposure of the core yarn.
Polyolefin fibers prepared by melt spinning exhibit excellent properties, and their core-spun yarns possess practical value. These results show that polyolefin fibers have potential application prospects in meeting the requirements of fabric strength and elasticity, and provide important support for the development of polyolefin fiber materials.


Influence of tension on the coating effect and performance of air-jet vortex-spun viscose/nylon/polyester filament core-spun yarns

YANG Yu, WU Junnian, GONG Zhenghui, FU Jiajia, LU Yuzheng

2025, 33(08):  26-34.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202411036

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Air-jet vortex spinning technology is characterized by a short production process, high speed and efficiency, as well as low labor requirements. Additionally, the yarns produced exhibit low hairiness, good abrasion resistance, and resistance to pilling. However, the yarn strength is only about 80% of that of ring-spun yarns. Producing core-spun yarns using air-jet vortex spinning equipment not only retains the advantages of vortex spinning but also leverages filament yarns to enhance yarn strength. This approach compensates for the lower strength of air-jet vortex-spun yarns while preserving the characteristics of the outer fibers, making it practically significant for improving yarn performance.
This study primarily focuses on 17.2 tex air-jet vortex-spun viscose/nylon/polyester filament core-spun yarns as the research object, conducting single-factor experiments on core filament pre-tension and feed ratio. Under a feed ratio of 0.98, five tensioner settings (levels 1–5) were selected to produce samples. At tensioner level 4, feed ratios of 0.94, 0.96, 1.0, and 1.02 were chosen for sample production. The study focuses on the effects of core filament pre-tension and feed ratio on the tension distribution of different components in the air-jet vortex-spun core-spun yarn. It further explores how these tension changes influence yarn structure, coverage performance, and yarn quality, with the ultimate goal of optimizing the final yarn quality. For evaluating the coverage performance, black core filaments were used during spinning to facilitate the observation of exposed filaments. Single-sided images of vortex-spun core-spun yarn were processed using threshold segmentation. Appropriate thresholds (75 and 145) were applied to segment the images, allowing the measurement of the exposed core filament area on one side and the total yarn area. The coverage coefficient was then calculated to quantitatively analyze the coverage performance of air-jet vortex-spun core-spun yarn.
The study results indicate that the spinning segment tension of air-jet vortex-spun core-spun yarn is jointly influenced by the feed ratio and core filament pre-tension, showing a positive correlation. The ratio of core filament tension to wrapping fiber tension in the spinning segment significantly affects the yarn structure. When the ratio is too low, the core filament tends to bend and form loops, whereas when the ratio is too high, the outer wrapping fibers are prone to peeling and forming loops. Furthermore, excessively high or low ratios result in asynchronous breaking of the components in the air-jet vortex-spun core-spun yarn, leading to multiple peaks in the stress-strain curve. At a feed ratio of 0.98 and a core filament pre-tension of 2.1 cN, the structure of the 17.2 tex air-jet vortex-spun viscose/nylon/polyester filament core-spun yarn is the most stable, exhibiting the highest coverage coefficient and breaking strength, with fewer hairiness and the best evenness. Within a certain range, higher feed ratios and core filament pre-tensions result in greater breaking elongation. The optimized 17.2 tex air-jet vortex-spun viscose/nylon/polyester filament core-spun yarn shows improved yarn performance compared to air-jet vortex-spun viscose/nylon blended yarn of the same specification.


Improvement of the thread take-up mechanism and its thread optimization based on an one-sided sewing device

LING Yufeng, HE Junjie, WANG Tianqi, WANG Haoxuan

2025, 33(08):  35-43.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202411023

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One-sided-stitching techniques can enhance the mechanical properties of composites in the vertical direction, improve the interlaminar damage tolerance, and have the advantages of flexible operating space and applicability to a wide range of structural components. The one-sided stitching device is prone to several phenomena such as missing hook, slackness of the stitching, tightness of the stitching and inaccurate stitching distance during the stitching process, which results in poor stitch quality and low success rate of the stitching. 
On the basis of analyzing the working principle of the one-sided sewing device, the mathematical model of the thread take-up mechanism is improved based on the concept of balancing the supply and demand of the seam quantity, and the parameter analysis is carried out by using the Matlab software to meet the synergy between the supply quantity of the stitching of the thread take-up mechanism and the seam quantity required for sewing. Combined with the designed layout of the thread path, the stable molding conditions of one-sided sewing stitches are improved. The experiment is divided into three groups, namely, no thread take-up mechanism group, additional thread take-up mechanism group and improved experiment group. The position of the nut of the tension adjuster is controlled to change the spring preload force, so as to maintain the same stitch tension in each group before the start of the experiment, and to investigate the influence of the thread path layout on the stitch. The experimental materials are woolen felt, carbon fiber fabric, composite sponge, PVC leather and glass fiber fabric, and the thickness of the materials is about 1.5 mm. Specifically, the carbon fiber fabric and glass fiber fabric are stacked, the thickness is about 1.2‒1.5 mm. In these three parts of the experiment, 10 stitches, 20 stitches, 30 stitches, 40 stitches and 50 stitches are sewn in order, with a total of five groups of stitches, and each stitch is sewn three times and the average value is taken as the experimental results.
The experimental results show that the improved experimental group shows significant improvement in the quality of the thread stitches compared with the no thread take-up mechanism group and the additional thread take-up mechanism group. There are significant differences in stitching success rates under different experimental materials, with PVC leather having the best stitching effect. The improved device significantly improves the seam quality and verifies the rationality of the structural design of the unilateral sewing device.


Structural design of an automatic yarn changing device for warping

GAO Qiang, CHEN Bingbing, ZHANG Yujing, LI Changcheng

2025, 33(08):  44-51.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202409043

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Warping is a critical process in weaving preparation, which involves winding a certain number of warp yarns onto a warp beam in parallel, with uniform and appropriate tension, to meet the required length and width specified by the process. The warp yarns are drawn out from full cones hanging on the spindles of the creel. Nowadays, the intermittent warping cone creel is favored by most enterprises due to its advantages in facilitating yarn unwinding, saving floor space, and improving warping efficiency. Intermittent warping cone creels are mainly categorized into three types: sectional type, small V-shaped chain rotary type, and large V-shaped chain rotary type.
The warping workshop represented by Company G faces issues such as low work efficiency and high labor intensity in manual bobbin loading and unloading, coupled with limited factory space that makes it difficult to accommodate existing automated creel systems. To address these issues, a novel chain-type circulating creel equipped with automatic unloading and material recovery devices has been designed. Research has established models for the main body of the chain-type circulating creel, the unloading device, and the empty bobbin recovery device, and elaborated on their working principles. Based on the roller arrangement in existing circulating creels, a guide rail arrangement cooperating with V-shaped rollers was proposed. 
Furthermore, by simplifying the force model of a single-row creel, the contact force between the outer side of the V-shaped roller and the guide rail was calculated to be . In ANSYS Workbench, boundary conditions consistent with real-world scenarios were added, and the obtained simulated contact force deviated by less than 5% from the theoretical calculation, thereby verifying the validity of the model. Finally, to investigate the vibration mechanism of the creel during operation, finite element analysis software was used to conduct modal analysis and harmonic response analysis. The results indicated that the modal vibration frequency of the creel ranged from  to . When it was within the of 18‒27 Hz range, significant deflection occurred at the end of the creel. Therefore, during the rotation of the empty bobbin on the creel, the motor's output frequency should avoid the aforementioned frequency range.
The research findings indicate that the creel model exhibits high reliability for its load-bearing components under maximum load conditions. When the creel stops and empties bobbins at the head of the machine, the output frequency of the motor driving the circular rotation of the creel should avoid the modal vibration frequency range of the creel to ensure its stable operation.


Preparation and properties of boron nitride/nanocellulose-modified cool cotton fabrics

SHEN Yuanhui, SONG Yufan, YANG Lei, SHEN Yifeng, JIANG Fang

2025, 33(08):  52-58.  DOI: 10.12477/j. att.202409041

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As global warming intensifies and summer temperatures rise, people's demand for comfort and coolness in summer clothing has been increasing year by year. However, the cool feeling performance, breathability and comfort of existing textiles on the market is generally poor. Traditional cotton fabrics, while excellent in moisture absorption and breathability and suitable for summer wear, have a low thermal conductivity, resulting in poor cool feeling performance when used alone. This makes it difficult to meet people's demand for a cool sensation in high-temperature environments. Hence, the research and development of cotton fabrics with cool feeling function holds broad prospects. 
To develop cotton fabrics with a cool feeling effect, one approach is to introduce high thermal conductivity fillers to construct thermal conduction pathways, so as to enhance the overall thermal conductivity of the cotton fabric to achieve the desired coolness. In our study, functional BN (FBN) was synthesized using an ultrasonic-assisted liquid-phase exfoliation method, and further functionalized with nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC). FBN/nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) solutions were prepared by blending different concentrations of FBN powder with a uniform dispersion of NFC. Meanwhile, h-BN solutions of the same concentrations were prepared as control experiments. The two prepared boron nitride solutions were then applied to cotton fabrics through a double-dip and double-nip process, followed by heat-setting at 120℃ for 90 seconds, ultimately yielding two types of modified cotton fabrics with boron nitride solutions. After comparing the thermal conductivity, cool feeling performance, mechanical properties, and other properties of the original cotton fabric, h-BN modified cotton fabrics, and FBN/NFC modified cotton fabrics, it was found that the FBN/NFC modified cotton fabric prepared under this process had an in-plane thermal conductivity of 6.93 W/(m·K), approximately 3.96 times higher than that of the original cotton fabric. Through finite element simulations of their heat transfer process, the FBN/NFC modified cotton fabric exhibited higher heat flux vectors and a broader temperature distribution, indicating its enhanced heat transfer capability. The cool feeling coefficient of the FBN/NFC modified cotton fabric was 0.27 J/(cm²·s), exceeding the national standard and aligning with the trend of increased thermal conductivity. This indicated that the cotton fabrics modified by FBN/NFC solution could effectively transfer human heat, accelerate the rate of heat dissipation, and bring a cool and comfortable feeling to the human body. After modification with FBN/NFC solution, the hydrophilicity of cotton fabrics was enhanced, while its breathability slightly decreased. Additionally, the modification with the FBN/NFC solution had minimal impact on the mechanical properties of the cotton fabric, which remained high-strength and low-elongation after modification. 
The above results indicate that the cotton fabric, after being treated with a 10% mass fraction FBN/NFC solution through a double dipping and double nipping process, followed by heat-setting at 120℃ for 90 seconds, exhibits significant improvements in both thermal conductivity and cool feeling coefficient compared to the original cotton fabric. FBN/NFC modified cotton fabrics can be practically applied as cool feeling textiles for personal heat management and this offers certain guiding significance for the design of cool feeling textiles.


Influencing factors of anti-pilling property of polyester-cotton blended fabrics modified by electrostatic atomization

XIAO Qi, QU Jing, GAO Zhe, PENG Jiajia

2025, 33(08):  59-67.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202410001

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Polyester-cotton blended fabrics are prone to pilling and fuzzing after wearing or washing, which not only affects the appearance of the fabric but also significantly reduces its wearability and service life. The main method currently used to address this issue is resin finishing. However, this method tends to deteriorate the fabric's hand feel and impair its moisture absorption and air permeability.
In order to solve this problem, this study employed electrostatic atomization of pyrimidine compounds to treat polyester-cotton blended fabrics, uniformly encapsulating the pyrimidine compounds in the form of nanoparticles onto the fiber surface. The study systematically investigated the influence patterns of the mass percentage of pyrimidine compounds, electrostatic atomization voltage, electrostatic atomization speed, and electrostatic atomization time on the fabric's anti-pilling property. By further optimizing the process parameters, the optimal method for enhancing the anti-pilling property of polyester-cotton blended fabrics was obtained. In addition, a comparison was made between the impregnation method and the electrostatic atomization of pyrimidine compounds in terms of their effectiveness in improving the fabric's anti-pilling property.
The method of treating fabrics with electrostatic atomization of pyrimidine compounds adopted in this study did not affect the pores between the fibers, whereas the impregnation method could lead to the pores between the surface fibers being filled. Infrared spectroscopy tests fully demonstrated the successful cross-linking of pyrimidine compounds onto the polyester-cotton blended fabrics. As the mass percentage of pyrimidine compounds increased, the fabric's pilling grade showed the rule of increasing first and then decreasing. When the mass percentage of pyrimidine compounds was 12%, the fabric achieved the highest pilling grade of 4–5. With the increase in electrostatic atomization voltage, the fabric's pilling grade showed the rule of gradually increasing. At an electrostatic atomization voltage of 25 kV, the fabric reached the highest pilling grade of 4–5. As the electrostatic atomization speed increased, the fabric's anti-pilling property first improved and then decreased. The optimal anti-pilling property was achieved when the electrostatic atomization speed was 0.05 mL/min, with a pilling grade of 4–5. As the electrostatic atomization time increased, the fabric's anti-pilling property improved. At an electrostatic atomization time of 120 minutes, the fabric achieved the highest pilling grade of 5. The strength of fabrics treated by impregnation and electrostatic atomization methods both decreased, of which the fabrics treated by electrostatic atomization decreased less. The air permeability of fabrics treated with the impregnation method decreased more significantly, while the electrostatic atomization of pyrimidine compounds did not affect the fabric's air permeability. When the mass percentage of pyrimidine compounds was 12%, the atomization voltage was 25 V, the atomization speed was 0.05 mL/min, and the atomization time was 120 minutes, the polyester-cotton blended fabric achieved an optimal anti-pilling property with a pilling grade of 5. After 20 washes, the pilling grade remained at 4–5, indicating good durability.


Dyeing process of antimony-free ZnO antibacterial polyester fabrics

XUAN Xiaminga, WU Minghua, ZHANG Xiaotiana, LI Yuanyuan, FENG Weifang

2025, 33(08):  68-76.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202412018

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The polyester (PET) fiber has experienced exceptional growth due to its superior heat resistance, light resistance, chemical stability, dimensional stability, and the ease of availability of production raw materials, making it a leader among synthetic fibers. However, the polyester fiber is hydrophobic with poor air permeability, making it prone to bacteria growth when used in humid and hot conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to give polyester fabric good water absorption and antibacterial properties to improve its wearing comfort. On the other hand, the synthesis of polyester mostly uses antimony-based catalysts. Antimony-based catalysts exhibit excellent catalytic performance and have mature catalytic processes, but antimony is a heavy metal that is harmful to the body. In line with the trend of eco-friendly and comfortable functional development of polyester fibers, some enterprises have successfully developed antimony-free ZnO antibacterial polyester fiber products using non-antimony catalytic polymerization.
However, the change in catalyst during the synthesis process of antimony-free ZnO antibacterial polyester fiber may lead to alterations in the fiber’s structure. Both the structural changes in the fiber and the catalyst itself can potentially affect the dyeing performance of the polyester fabric. In addition, during high-temperature dyeing of antimony-free ZnO antibacterial polyester fabrics, there is an issue of nano-ZnO dissolution, which not only leads to the loss of antibacterial function of the fiber fabric but also affects the dyeing uniformity, making the dyeing process more challenging. In order to obtain good dyeing properties for antimony-free ZnO antibacterial polyester fabrics, this study took such fabrics as the research object and employed SEM, XRD, DSC, TG, and other testing methods to examine the microstructure and thermal properties of the fibers. Based on these analyses, high-temperature and high-pressure dyeing process was adopted to investigate the impact of dyeing factors such as dyeing temperature, holding time, and dyeing pH on the dye uptake rate and K/S value of the fiber. The dyeing process conditions were optimized, and the K/S value and color fastness of the dyed fabric were determined and compared with those of ZnO antibacterial polyester fabrics. Furthermore, the antibacterial properties of antimony-free ZnO antibacterial polyester fiber before and after dyeing was measured to assess the impact of the dyeing process on their antibacterial properties.
The results showed that the antimony-free ZnO antibacterial polyester fiber was a cross-shaped fiber. Compared with ZnO antibacterial polyester fibers, the antimony-free ZnO antibacterial polyester fibers exhibited a lower glass transition temperature of 67.6°C and a lower crystallinity of 23.43%. The optimum dyeing process conditions for antimony-free ZnO antibacterial polyester fiber fabric were as follows: dyeing temperature of 130 ℃, dyeing holding time of 60 minutes, and dyeing pH of 5. When the amount of dye was 1%(o.w.f), the dye uptake rate reached 86%, and the K/S value was up to 12. The dyed fabric exhibited a washing fastness of grade 4 and rubbing fastness of grade 5. Compared with ZnO antibacterial polyester fibers, antimony-free ZnO antibacterial polyester fibers demonstrated a higher dye uptake rate and K/S value. Additionally, the dyeing process had a minor impact on the antibacterial properties of the antimony-free ZnO antibacterial polyester fabrics.


Effect of washing on the performance of glass bead retro-reflective textiles

SUN Nan, ZHENG Rongmei, ZHANG Jiarui, CUI Zhiying

2025, 33(08):  77-85.  DOI: 10.12477∕j.att.202412012

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Glass bead retro-reflective textiles are safety functional textiles that offer exceptional nighttime visibility, making them widely used in clothing for workers in various illuminated occupations. These textiles are inevitably exposed to damage from various external factors during wear. As a result, it is very important to evaluate the durability of glass bead retro-reflective textiles. Washing durability is an important aspect of assessing the overall durability of textiles for wear, as mechanical action, chemical action, thermal stress, and water stress during washing can degrade the protective capabilities of the textiles.
To investigate the effect of washing on the performance of glass bead retro-reflective textiles, five commonly used types of such textiles in clothing were selected, and their washing durability was comprehensively discussed by combining qualitative and quantitative methods. The base fabrics of these textiles were composed of polyester or polyester-cotton blends, with polyester or polyurethane as the adhesive, and processed using either thermal transfer or implantation methods. A Type A standard washing machine was used to wash the textiles according to the 6Mh program specified in GB/T 8629-2017 "Textiles—Domestic washing and drying procedures for testing", with washing cycles of 1, 5, 10, 20, 25, 30, 40, and 50 times. Firstly, basic parameters that could potentially affect the reflective performance were tested. Next, visual evaluation, spectrophotometry, and retroreflection performance testing were employed to observe and analyze changes in textile performance before and after washing. Visual evaluation involved comparing the appearance differences between unwashed samples and those washed 50 times. Spectrophotometry was used to compare the color difference during the washing process. Retroreflection performance testing was conducted to compare trends in reflective intensity changes throughout the washing cycles. Furthermore, a mechanistic analysis was carried out to find out the causes of performance degradation of glass bead retro-reflective textiles. Surface micro-morphology was observed to analyze bead damage, and thermogravimetric analysis was performed to explore changes in the chemical composition of the textiles.
The results showed that the appearance of glass bead retro-reflective textiles underwent changes such as darkening, uneven coloration, and damage after washing. The brightness of samples decreased by 4.81 to 8.32 after 50 cycles of washing. Moreover, the retroreflection coefficient of the specimens initially increased and then decreased with the increase in the number of washes. After 50 cycles of washing, the decrease rate of the retroreflection coefficient of the specimens ranged from 13.81% to 58.26%, yet all coefficients still met the standard requirements for textiles after washing. In addition, the textile processed by the implantation method maintained better performance within a certain range of washing cycles. The reflective performance of textiles processed by the thermal transfer method was related to parameters such as the embedding depth rate of glass beads. The diameter of the glass beads and the composition of the base fabric also affected the changes in reflective performance. Glass beads were specifically characterized by abrasion and detachment in microscopic morphology. The mass loss of samples increased after washing and the decomposition rate was accelerated, but the chemical composition remained essentially unchanged. Therefore, the chemical effect of washing was minimal, and the abrasion and detachment of glass beads caused by mechanical forces during washing were the primary factors leading to the decline in the textile's reflective performance. Glass bead retro-reflective textiles should be washed as infrequently as possible during use. Reducing the washing frequency can preserve the textile’s appearance and protective performance, and to some extent, extend the textile's lifespan, which is beneficial for sustainable development.


Preparation and properties of graphene-coated conductive aramid blended yarns

WANG Yingying, WANG Jiaquan, XUE Ying, WU Zhuoqian, YAO Yijun

2025, 33(08):  86-95.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202410030

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Conductive yarns serve as crucial materials in the production of smart wearable textiles; however, the issue of easy detachment of conductive coatings often leads to a decline in conductivity. Aiming at the structural design of conductive fillers and base yarns, this paper selected waterborne epoxy resin (WEP) with a structure similar to both as the polymeric binder for the conductive paste. Specifically, a combined conductive slurry comprising graphene oxide suspension (GO) and graphene oxide-waterborne epoxy resin (GO-WEP) was employed. By simply immersing aramid blended yarns (ABY) in this slurry followed by thermal reduction, graphene-coated conductive aramid blended yarns (rGO@rGO-WEP ABY) with excellent conductivity and good stability were prepared.
Through investigating the film-forming properties, thickness and mechanical properties of WEP slurry films with different solid contents (10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%), it was found that WEP slurry films with 20% solid content had better transparency and flexibility, making them suitable for the preparation of composite conductive slurries. Further testing of the film-forming properties and basic performance of GO-WEP slurry films revealed that GO could be uniformly dispersed in WEP, and the formed slurry films exhibited conductivity after thermal reduction. Conductivity tests were conducted on conductive aramid blended yarns subjected to different impregnation-thermal reduction cycles with GO suspension. The results showed that Sample 3, which underwent three impregnation-thermal reduction cycles, had the lowest resistance value and the best conductivity. When Sample 3 was repeatedly impregnated and thermally reduced in GO-WEP, the conductivity and weight gain rate of the resulting rGO@rGO-WEP ABY gradually decreased with the increase of impregnation-thermal reduction cycles. When the process was repeated once, the average resistance values of rGO@rGO-WEP ABY reached a minimum of 0.308 MΩ/1 cm and 1.416 MΩ/10 cm, which was sufficient to light up an "XPU" LED bulb. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) results indicated that WEP could improve the adhesion between the rGO@rGO-WEP ABY coating and the fibers.
The rGO@rGO-WEP ABY prepared in this paper has excellent conductivity and stability, addressing the issues of easy coating detachment and poor stability in conductive yarns. It holds promising application prospects in the field of smart textiles.


Preparation and performance of PET/CuO/PVA yarn sensors

YANG Lei, LIU Tao, XU Lisheng, HU Die, GAO Fulei, DING Xinbo, ZHU Guocheng, LIU Xu

2025, 33(08):  96-105.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202412022

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With the growing attention to healthy living, flexible wearable sensors have found widespread applications in health monitoring, motion tracking, human-computer interaction, and other fields. Compared to traditional rigid sensors, flexible sensors demonstrate superior flexibility, stretchability, and adaptability, enabling them to closely adhere to the human body or be integrated into clothing for real-time monitoring of biological signals and environmental changes. Especially in the monitoring of minute deformations, flexible sensors exhibit significant advantages, maintaining stable operation under complex dynamic conditions. However, existing flexible sensors still face numerous challenges in terms of sensitivity, stability, and responsiveness. Therefore, the research on high-performance sensor materials with excellent mechanical properties and electrical conductivity has become the focus of current research.
In this paper, nano-sized copper oxide (CuO) was synthesized using the sol-gel method and compounded with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to prepare CuO/PVA conductive hydrogels (abbreviated as CP) with sensing capabilities through a freeze-thaw cycling process. This method features straightforward operations and does not require sophisticated equipment, as the material formation can be achieved simply by controlling the freeze-thaw cycles, thereby reducing preparation costs and technical barriers. Furthermore, through systematic research on the doping ratio of CuO and other process conditions, it was determined that the comprehensive performance of the CP conductive hydrogels reaches its optimum when the mass fraction of copper oxide is 0.6% (abbreviated as CP0.6). Finally, a polyester/copper oxide/polyvinyl alcohol (PET/CuO/PVA, abbreviated as PCP) yarn sensor with excellent sensing performance was prepared using the dip-coating method.
The research results show that the CP0.6 conductive hydrogel exhibits excellent electrical and mechanical properties. When the mass fraction of nano-CuO is 0.6%, its conductivity reaches a maximum value of 0.16 S/m, with a response sensitivity factor of 2.78, and it demonstrates rapid dynamic response within the tensile strain range. Moreover, the material's stability and reliability under dynamic conditions make it have certain application potential in the fields of wearable devices and flexible sensors. On the other hand, the conductivity of the PCP15 yarn sensor can reach up to 0.89 S/m, exhibiting fast response capability and good strain sensitivity, particularly showing segmented linear sensitivity characteristics within the small strain range (1%–5%). Furthermore, the PCP15 yarn sensor can effectively monitor subtle vibrations and the bending of joints such as the fingers, wrists, and elbows, and it can operate stably and adapt to motion monitoring of different amplitudes. This makes the PCP15 yarn sensor have application potential in motion tracking and smart wearable devices. In the future, the optimization of its conductive network structure and the bonding performance of the fiber interface is expected to further enhance its application potential and commercial value.


Development and performance of flexible triboelectric sensor yarns for human motion monitoring

CHEN Guoce, SHEN Hua, XIE Chengbo, LIAO Youmei, CHANG Yanan, DAI Hongfang, HONG Xinhua, MA Aiqin, WEN Run

2025, 33(08):  106-116.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202411024

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In recent years, with the development of smart wearables, flexible sensors for human movement monitoring have gained increasing popularity. These flexible sensors are highly functional and safe. Among them, textile-based triboelectric sensors have lower cost, higher stability, stronger integration, and greater advantages in human motion monitoring.
To explore the feasibility of applying intelligent textiles for human motion monitoring, a flexible triboelectric sensing yarn with a core-shell structure featuring a double-helix electrode was fabricated using weaving technology. The core yarn (electrode yarn) consists of silver-plated nylon double-helix wrapped around spandex yarn, while the shell yarn is made of PP yarn. The electrical performance, durability and stability of the sensing yarn were tested using a custom-built electrical output test platform. The sensor yarn is integrated with the human body and connected to the test system to monitor the movement status of the human body. The double-helix electrode structure divides the electrode into multiple small regions, and this fragmented structure enhances the triboelectric charge density and improves friction efficiency, thereby boosting the sensor's output efficiency. The results show that the output voltage of the sensing yarn with a double-helix core yarn is significantly higher than that of traditional sensing yarns. The sensing yarn can withstand various mechanical deformations such as bending, twisting, wrapping, and knotting, making it well-suited for integration with the human body; when the PP yarn is woven with 6 strands, the resulting sensing yarn exhibits the most uniform and tight coverage. Additionally, when the conductive yarn has a fineness of 15 tex, the sensing yarn's voltage reaches its peak at 8.84 V. The output current of the sensing yarn in the frequency range of 1–2.5 Hz increases with the acceleration of the frequency, and the output voltage does not change significantly. In the pressure range of 5 N–65 N, both the output voltage and current increase with increasing  pressure. After 500 cycles of movement, bending, and twisting, as well as 20 washes, the sensing yarn maintains stable output, demonstrating good durability, stability, and washability. When encapsulated and integrated into the sole of a shoe, the sensing yarn responds to different motion states such as walking, running, and jumping.
The core-shell triboelectric sensing yarn demonstrates the feasibility of applying smart textiles to human motion monitoring and motion state recognition, lays the foundation for research on triboelectric motion monitoring sensors, and also provides inspiration for broadening the application scenarios of textile-based TENG. Smart textiles can also be utilized for optimizing athletic performance, monitoring environmental conditions, and various military applications, among others. The research results can provide reference for the design and development of textile-based sensors.


Structural design and performance of elastic cable webbing for multi-power power transmission

ZHANG Shihan, YIN Yumin, ZHAO Jiawen, MENG Fenye, HU Jiyong

2025, 33(08):  117-125.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202411013

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With the development of technology, smart wearable devices are becoming increasingly popular in daily life. To achieve the intelligent functions of these devices, the number of integrated modules and the complexity of power supply systems have continually increased, posing higher demands on power transmission cables suitable for flexible smart wearable devices. In this context, textile power cables, as a power transmission solution featuring multi-wire arrangement, have demonstrated great potential for application in smart wearable devices.
Textile power cables have many advantages compared to traditional power cables. Traditional power cables are usually rigid and lack sufficient flexibility and comfort, which may cause discomfort to users when worn. In contrast, textile power cables, through the use of flexible materials and innovative structural designs, provide better adaptability and wearing experience, particularly suitable for smart clothing that requires prolonged wear. Many scholars have designed and prepared various types of textile cables using different materials and structures, showing the application prospect of textile power cables in smart wearable devices. These studies show that by selecting appropriate materials and structures, the flexibility and wearability of textile power cables can be significantly improved. This study innovatively designed a power cable webbing suitable for multi-wire expansion and high elasticity requirements, proposed a novel design scheme for elastic conductive wrapping yarn based on a spiral structure, where metal wires were spirally wrapped around the surface of an elastic spandex core yarn to achieve both conductivity and elastic performance. A flattened webbing with a tubular three-layer structure was designed to maintain structural stability and high resilience under mechanical strain. Combined with shuttle loom forming technology, a double-warp rapier loom was utilized in conjunction with differential grouping warp tension adjustment technology to control the warp stretch ratio or let-off amount during weaving. Based on the parallel resistance theorem, the collaborative optimization mechanism between the number of conductors and material combinations was explored and the structural and power transmission performance of the power cable webbing were evaluated.
The results show that this study has innovatively designed a power cable webbing suitable for multi-wire expansion and high elasticity requirements, which not only achieves a combination of conductivity and elastic performance but also ensures structural stability and high recoverability under mechanical strain. This study successfully prepared an elastic cable webbing with good power transmission performance, providing a novel and efficient solution for power transmission in flexible smart wearable devices. This design holds broad application prospects and will play an important role in smart clothing and other flexible electronic devices in the future.


Fabrication and electrical properties of carbon black/hydrogel composite electrodes

DING Yaru, WANG Yifan, LIU Rangtong, ZHANG Haojie, WANG Jingjing

2025, 33(08):  126-133.  DOI: 10.12477/j.att.202411047

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Hydrogels, as soft materials featuring three-dimensional crosslinked networks with high water content, have been extensively utilized in wearable strain sensing applications. To expand the application of hydrogels in flexible strain sensors, composite conductive hydrogels are prepared by in-situ polymerization to have high adhesive properties, mechanical stability, and high response sensitivity.
First, carbon black (CB) was added to DA/NaOH aqueous solution, and DA was oxidized and polymerized in situ on the surface of CB to form PDA-decorated CB (PDA-CB). Second, acrylamide (AM) monomers, acrylic acid (AA) monomers, ammonium persulfate (APS), and N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (BIS) were added to the PDA-CB dispersion as chemical initiators and crosslinkers, to form the gel precursor suspension. Finally, glycerol was added to form a glycerol-water binary solvent system within the gel. After degassing the gel precursor suspension under vacuum at room temperature for 2 hours, the resulting suspension was used to produce a composite conductive hydrogel (CHS).
The microscopic characterization of CHS precursor suspension revealed that carbon black particles were uniformly dispersed within the hydrogel matrix, exhibiting a chain-like and network distribution, conducive to enhancing the electrical properties. With the increase of carbon black dosage, the stress experienced by the CB hydrogel at the same elongation increased, confirming the enhancement of mechanical strength through CB incorporation. However, when the carbon black content in the suspension exceeded a certain threshold, the mechanical and electrical properties of the hydrogel declined. This was attributed to the fact that an excessive amount of carbon black particles tended to agglomerate, leading to stress concentration and subsequent fracture in the hydrogel. Furthermore, the agglomeration of carbon black within the hydrogel matrix hinderd electron transport in the gel system, thereby reducing the conductivity of the hydrogel. In addition, dopamine hydrochloride (DA) was introduced and could be coated on the surface of carbon black particles in an alkaline environment and polymerized in situ to form polydopamine (PDA), enhancing the recombination of carbon black particles and hydrogel matrix, and promoting the uniform dispersion of carbon black particles within the hydrogel matrix. The resulting CHS hydrogel exhibits high tensile elongation at break and adhesion/tear strength. The properties of the CHS hydrogel, prepared by incorporating DA into the CB hydrogel, demonstrate a significant enhancement. The composite conductive hydrogel CHS exhibits good adhesion to various substrates, and the strain coefficient can reach up to 2.191 during the tensile process, showing excellent response sensitivity. It demonstrates good response stability under different deformation levels and frequencies, and good stability after cyclic stretching for 1,500 cycles under 50% deformation.