An airlaid substrate includes at least one bicomponent fiber having a first region and a second region. The first region includes polypropylene and the second includes a blend of an ethylene-base polymer and an ethylene acid copolymer. The ethylene-base polymer has a density from 0.920 g/cm.sup.3 to 0.970 g/cm.sup.3 and a melt index (I.sub.2) from 0.5 g/10 min to 150 g/10 min. The ethylene acid copolymer includes the polymerized reaction product of from 60 wt % to 99 wt % ethylene monomer and from 1 wt % to 40 wt % unsaturated dicarboxylic acid comonomer, based on the total weight of the monomers in the ethylene acid copolymer. The ethylene acid copolymer having a melt index (I.sub.2) from 0.5 g/10 min to 500 g/10 min.

A polymeric composition comprised of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) and polylactic acid (PLA) having a surface charge potential of at least about 50 volts in the absence of any other charge enhancing component may be made by melt blending PMMA and PLA, extruding the melt blend through a die and cooling at a rate through Tg of the PLA of at 10° C./min to 1000° C./second. The polymeric composition may be made by melt blowing into a nonwoven fabric. The nonwoven fabric may be charged to a surface potential of at least about 50 electron volts. Such filters may have greater than 95% efficiency at a pressure drop of less than 2 mm Hg even after being exposed to high temperatures (~70° C.) for an hour or more.

A dispersible nanoparticle (200) for use in anti-pathogenic applications is presented. The dispersible nanoparticle has a core (210) made of a metal or a metal alloy compound. The core (210) is coated with at least one of a carboxylic acid and a water soluble polymer (220). Also presented is a membrane coated with the dispersible nanoparticles and a corresponding method of coating the membrane. The membrane may be used is various products including a face mask and an air filter for use in an air conditioning unit.

The present invention relates to electrospun fibers comprising

i) a hydrophilic polymer that is soluble in a first solvent,
ii) a bioadhesive substance that is slightly soluble in said first solvent,
iii) optionally, a drug substance.

The present invention relates to a bundled yarn, comprising plural fibers integrated by a sizing agent, wherein the sizing agent is a modified polyvinyl alcohol comprising a structural unit (X) derived from an unsaturated carboxylic acid or derivative thereof in an amount of 0.1 to 10% by mole, taking the amount of all monomer units as 100% by mole, which modified polyvinyl alcohol has a saponification degree of 85% by mole or higher.

A recyclable thread or yarn having a dissolvable fiber and an insoluble fiber is provided and incorporated into a woven article, garment or textile. The dissolvable fiber and the insoluble fiber are twisted to form the thread or yarn. The dissolvable fiber may be a synthetic water soluble polymer and may dissolve in water at between 60° C. and 100° C. The insoluble fiber may be cotton such as extra-long staple (ELS) cotton or Supima cotton. A process for recycling a woven article, garment or textile made with the recyclable thread or yarn is also provided. The process for recycling a woven article, garment or textile made with the recyclable thread or yarn includes subjecting the woven article, garment or textile in water to a condition to cause said dissolvable fiber to lose long range order to form a slurry or solution.

A nonwoven fiber assembly. The nonwoven fiber assembly includes a nonwoven fibrous web including a plurality of discontinuous fibers; and a nonwoven fabric at least partially surrounding the nonwoven fibrous web; the nonwoven fabric including a plurality of randomly-oriented fibers, the plurality of randomly-oriented fibers comprising: at least 60 wt % of oxidized polyacrylonitrile fibers; and from 0 to less than 40 wt % of reinforcing fibers having an outer surface comprised of a (co)polymer with a melting temperature of from 100° C. to 450° C.; and a fluoropolymer binder on the plurality of randomly-oriented fibers.

A thermoplastic filament comprising multiple polymers of differing flow temperatures in a regular geometric arrangement, and a method for producing such a filament, are described. Because of the difference in flow temperatures, there exists a temperature range at which one polymer is mechanically stable while the other is flowable. This property is extremely useful for creating thermoplastic monofilament feedstock for three-dimensionally printed parts, wherein the mechanically stable polymer enables geometric stability while the flowable polymer can fill gaps and provide strong bonding and homogenization between deposited material lines and layers. These multimaterial filaments can be produced via thermal drawing from a thermoplastic preform, which itself can be three-dimensionally printed. Furthermore, the preform can be printed with precisely controlled and complex geometries, enabling the creation of monofilament and fiber with unique decorative or functional properties.

A method for manufacturing a closed porous composite material includes 1) preparing a mixture that has 30 to 70 parts by weight of water-dispersed resin, 10 to 300 parts by weight of unexpanded thermal expansion microspheres, and 100 to 550 parts by weight of water, and stirring the mixture thoroughly; 2) preparing a carrier; 3) coating the carrier with the mixture acquired in step 1; 4) heating the carrier so that the unexpanded thermal expansion microspheres expand; and 5) repeating steps 3 and 4 multiple times to acquire a closed porous composite material. The closed porous composite material has a large number of closed cavities and polymer walls separating the closed cavities. The closed cavity is 20 μm to 800 μm in size. The ratio of a total volume of the closed cavities to a total volume of the polymer walls is greater than 16.

The invention addresses the problem of providing a cloth that is excellent not only in flame retardancy and antistatic properties but also in appearance quality and preferably also has protection performance against electric arcs, a method for producing the same, and a textile product. A means for resolution is a cloth including a meta-type wholly aromatic polyamide fiber and an electrically conductive fiber, wherein both the meta-type wholly aromatic polyamide fiber and the electrically conductive fiber are colored.