PVB/IF-WS2 system for impregnation of polyester knitwear

Abstract

Different types of textile materials are being used for military purposes. Cotton fabrics are the most commonly used for army personnel protection. Therefore lots of different approaches have been developed for camouflage prints. On the other hand, different polymers are used as impregnation of fabrics for this reason, and nowadays, nanotechnologies play important role in enhancing the textile materials. In our previous study the possibility of camouflage textile impregnation has been examined, with a polymer and nanostructures that was earlier proven to be beneficial in aspects of decreasing friction and wear, increasing mechanical resistance and enhancing camouflage properties [1-3, 4, 5]. Polyvinyl butyral, PVB was chosen as impregnating polymer which does not dissolve in water, i.e. resistant to wetting. Fullerenelike nanoparticles of tungsten disulfide, IF-WS2, were used as a nanoreinforcement due to their mechanical resistance and solid lubricating behavior [3, 4].Also, in our earlier research, a positive effect on spectrophotometric characteristics of military camouflage paints was shown [5, 6]. As a base material, in this research polyester knitwear was used, intended for protective clothing and other items that need to be camouflaged.