Abstract
Coated fabrics are employed in a wide variety of applications, ranging from
protective clothing to architectural materials. Established technologies
involve the application of elastomers and silicones, polyurethane (PU), and
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to textiles using processes such as direct
coating, transfer coating, online coating, extrusion coating and calendering.
However, recent advances have included plasma coating, nanocoating and inkjet
deposition, with the aim of improving functionality, reducing costs and
improving the level of environmental friendliness of manufacturing operations.
Plasma coating was originally developed for use in military clothing, in order
to protect the wearer from chemical agents. Today it is used mainly for liquid
repellency in applications such as performance footwear. However, recent
research has gone into finding ways of using the technique to reduce the
amount of functional additive required for the production of nonwovens for the
hygiene industry.
Nanocoating involves the application of nano-sized particles on to a substrate
in order to provide specific specialist performance properties. Coatings which
incorporate nanotechnology are usually used for medical applications, mainly
those involving antiviral and biocidal requirements. Inkjet deposition
involves the application of chemical coatings to a substrate using the same
technology which is used for digital inkjet printing. Although the use of this
technique in technical textiles is still in its infancy, its benefits are
deemed to be substantial, especially by the participants of Digitex - an R&D
project involving TenCate and 15 other companies which has been partly funded
by the EU.
Specific developments in coated fabrics include: textiles with dirt repellency
and self-cleaning attributes; textiles which change colour in response to
changes of temperature or when they come into contact with acid; shear
thickening fluid which stiffens to provide body armour; rubber-like fabrics
which are impermeable to toxic chemicals; stain resistant fabrics; and
waterproof fabrics.
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