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Published on: March 18, 2021
An Improved Wet-Spinning Strategy for Preparing Thermal-Insulating UHMWPE Fibers and Their Application in
Shixuan Gao1,2, Xingzhong Gao1,2,3, Wei Fan1,2
1School of Textile Science and Engineering, Xi'an Polytechnic University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, P. R. China.
None:
Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber is ideal for cut-resistant fabrics but suffers from poor thermal insulation, restricting its use in low-temperature environments. This study proposes a method to improve the thermal insulation of UHMWPE fibers while preserving mechanical performance. Novel core-shell aerogel fibers were prepared with UHMWPE as the core and silica aerogel (SiO2) as the shell. Thermal imaging and cut-resistant tests were used to evaluate the properties. The results show that SiO2 aerogel significantly enhances thermal insulation: at a 100°C heating stage, the fabric surface temperature is 6.7°C lower than the control fabric. Compared with traditional insulation materials, the same thermal insulation effect is achieved with a 41.7% thinner thickness. The aerogel shell adheres firmly without shedding, ensuring long-term stability. Furthermore, the cut resistance is about 53.36% higher than conventional labor protection gloves. This work supports the development of lightweight, thin, high-performance fabrics with excellent cut resistance and thermal insulation for cold-region protective applications.
