Title
Hydrothermal synthesis of alumina/silica hybrid materials and their application on Lyocell fabrics
Authors
MING-SHIEN YEN MU-CHENG KUO CHIEN-WEN CHEN and YEN-SHENG CHENG

Received June 24, 2015
Published Volume 51 Issue 5-6 May-June
Keywords alumina, silica, Lyocell fabrics, hydrothermal, conductivity, water repellency

Abstract
A series of novel alumina/silica hybrid materials were prepared via the hydrothermal process from aluminum isopropoxide (AIP), methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS), and n-octyltriethoxysilane (OTES). The structures of the alumina/silica hybrid materials were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis and 27Al and 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging. Gray Lyocell fabrics were first dyed and then coated with the alumina/silica hybrid materials through a padding–drying–thermosol process. The bonding structures of the treated Lyocell fabrics were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analyses. The evenness of the coated layer on the Lyocell fabrics was confirmed by SEM images, and the interaction of the hybrid materials with the Lyocell fabrics was verified. Moreover, water repellency and conductivity analyses of the treated fabrics were conducted. Our data show that the conductivity of the Lyocell fabrics treated with the alumina/silica hybrid materials was improved with increasing concentrations of aluminum isopropoxide in the reaction mixture. After modification with alumina/silica hybrid materials, all the treated Lyocell fabrics revealed good water repellency abilities.