Facile fabrication of flexible and conductive AuNP/DWCNT fabric with enhanced joule heating efficiency via spray coating route

Amorphous photonic structures with non-iridescent and highly-stable structural color were fabricated via a simple one-step spray-coating technique. With this strategy, the obtained films on textile substrates presented short-ordered and amorphous photonic structures (APSs) similar to the amorphous nanostructures of avian feathers. The structural color presented the same hue when viewed at different angles and could be well controlled by varying the diameters of the SiO2 nanospheres. The prepared fabrics with structural color exhibited high color stability due to stability in both the assembled physical structure and the refractive index. The high stability of the assembled physical structure was attributed to the cementing effect of Poly(methylmethacrylate-butylacrylate) P(MMA-BA) existing between textile substrate and SiO2 nanospheres and among SiO2 nanospheres, while the high stability in the refractive index was contributed by the liquid-resistance achieved by both the surface roughness and the low-surface-energy of the as-sprayed APSs. With the resistances to external forces and liquid invasion, the non-iridescent brilliant structural color of the as-prepared fabrics could be kept steady. In this study, an approach of fabricating APSs with non-iridescent and stable structural color was established to enhance its potential application in structural coloration of textiles, and other color-related smart textiles. .

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Direct Joule Heating as a Means to Efficiently and Homogeneously Heat Thermoplastic Prepregs

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym12122959 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 2959

Author(s):

Jochen Wellekötter ◽

Christian Bonten

Keyword(s):

Joule Heating ◽

Woven Fabric ◽

Heating Efficiency ◽

Reinforced Plastics ◽

Complex Shapes ◽

Fiber Reinforced Plastics ◽

Materials Used ◽

Uneven Heating ◽

Heating Behavior

Although direct Joule heating is a known technique for heating carbon fiber reinforced plastics, it is a yet unexplored heating method for thermoplastic prepregs before back-injection molding. The knowledge obtained from resistance welding, for example, is not directly transferable because of considerably higher heated volumes and more complex shapes. In this study, the governing parameters and process limits are established for this method. The influences of the contacting, the materials used, and the size of the heated part are investigated with respect to the part temperature and heating efficiency. The findings show that the quality of heating is determined by the shape and size of the electrodes. Larger electrodes lead to a more homogeneous temperature distribution. Parts based on woven fabric can be heated more homogeneously because of the existence of intersections between rovings, generating contact between fibers. An increase in part width results in uneven heating behavior.

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