Fabrication and characterization of polyurethane and zirconium carbide coated cotton yarn

In this work, polyurethane/zirconium carbide was coated on the surface of cotton ply yarn by sizing method. The effects of ZrC and PU concentration on the photothermal efficiency were studied. The results showed that when the concentration of zirconium carbide and polyurethane was 4 wt% and 6 wt% respectively, the infrared photothermal conversion performance of the composite yarn was the best, and its surface temperature increased from 22.1 °C to 77.3 °C after 5 min irradiation of IR lamp. The obtained composite yarn was examined by using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The thermal stability, mechanical property and ultraviolet protection factor were also evaluated. The results showed that PU/ZrC coated on cotton fiber surface, improved tensile strength and elongation of the cotton yarn and rendered the cotton yarn excellent UV protection without deterioration to thermal stability. The durability evaluation showed the washing resistance and cycling stability of the cotton/PU/ZrC yarn were pretty good, which suggested a promising route for fabricating novel multifunctional yarns.