A method to manufacture composite fibers of rice husk and charcoal includes the following steps. Heat and grind the rice husk and the charcoal and blend with PET to form first granules and second granules respectively wherein mass fractions of rice husk and charcoal are 15-20 wt %. The mass fraction of rice husk in the first granules and that of the charcoal in the second granules are equal. Blend the first granules and the second granules to form mixed granules. Blend and melt the mixed granules and PET to form a mixture wherein the summation of the mass fractions of rice husk and charcoal in the mixture is 0.2-2 wt %. Form composite fibers from the melted mixture by a procedure of filament making.

An additive for incorporating ultraviolet radiation protection into a synthetic polymer with the additive and the synthetic polymer for forming a synthetic material is disclosed which has a quantity of zinc oxide particles modified with a layer of a reactive group that forms a bond with a synthetic polymer having C-H bonds.

A fabric for arc-protective garments includes first yarns and second yarns different from the first yarns. The first yarns include first modacrylic fibers, and the first modacrylic fibers contain an infrared absorber in an amount of 2.5 wt % or more with respect to a total weight of the first modacrylic fibers. The weight of the infrared absorber per unit area in the fabric for arc-protective garments is 0.05 oz/yd.sup.2 or more. An arc-protective garment includes the fabric for arc-protective garments.

A bimorph meta fiber is formed through spinning of two antagonistic polymer melts, one of which contains pre-compounded optical nanostructures, into an eccentric sheath-core configuration or a side-by-side key-lock configuration. The bimorph meta fiber is capable of an adaptive regulation of the infrared radiation responsive to humidity level deviation from a comfort zone or perspiration level of the wearer of the garment fabricated from the meta fibers. The bimorph meta fibers are humidity/heat trained to attain dynamical environmentally responsive behavior to maintain the humidity/thermal comfort zone at various the humidity level fluctuations.

Disclosed is a method for producing an antimicrobial heat-retaining fiber. The method includes spinning a spinning solution onto a fiber-forming resin. The spinning solution includes 1.0 to 6.0% by weight of carbon particles and 0.2 to 2.0% by weight of a metal alkoxide coupling agent. The spinning solution further includes 0.5 to 3.0% by weight of inorganic particles composed of a metal powder, a ceramic powder, or a mixture thereof By using the metal alkoxide coupling agent, the carbon particles and the inorganic particles are dispersed in a resin. Also disclosed is a fiber produced by the method. The fiber is prevented from breakage during spinning and is imparted with heat-retaining and antimicrobial functions due to the presence of the carbon particles and the inorganic particles. Further disclosed is a fabric manufactured using the fiber. The fabric can be prevented from deterioration of wash fastness.

The present disclosure provides for articles having structural color and methods of making articles having structural color. In an aspect, the present disclosure provides for articles that exhibit structural colors through the use of an optical unit. The optical unit, which is composed of at least two units, is disposed on a substrate (e.g., the surface of the article) and when exposed to visible light, the optical unit imparts a first structural color and a second structural to the article, where each structural color is visible color produced, at least in part, through optical effects.

A yarn comprising a plurality of bicomponent filaments having a first region comprising a first polymer composition and a second region comprising a second polymer composition, each of the first and second regions being distinct in the bicomponent filaments; each bicomponent filament comprising 5 to 60 weight percent of the first polymer composition and 95 to 40 weight percent of the second polymer composition; wherein the first polymer composition comprises aramid polymer containing 0.5 to 20 weight percent discrete homogeneously dispersed carbon particles and the second polymer composition comprises modacrylic polymer being free of discrete carbon particles; the yarn having a total content of 0.1 to 5 weight percent discrete carbon particles.

An artificial turf system may comprise a plurality of synthetic filaments and a substrate base layer coupled to the plurality of synthetic filaments. Each filament of the plurality of synthetic filaments may comprise a pigment having an elevated solar reflectance for wavelengths less than 2500 nm. This elevated solar reflectance may be configured to reflect near-infrared radiation, thereby reducing near-surface air temperatures and the artificial turf surface temperatures. Such engineered pigments may also be advantageously used in the leaves of artificial vegetation systems, such as, for example, artificial shrubs and trees.

A high-strength high-modulus graphene/nylon-6 fiber and a preparation method thereof are provided. The fiber is obtained through processing modified graphene and caprolactam with in situ polymerization and high-speed melt spinning. A graphene/nylon-6 composite is provided, which is obtained through compositing the modified graphene, the caprolactam and an additive. Based on the composite, a graphene/nylon-6 fabric with a permanent far-infrared healthcare function and a graphene/nylon-6 fabric with an ultraviolet protective property are provided, whose far-infrared property and ultraviolet protective property will not be attenuated due to an increase of fabric washing times, having a great market potential.

A method for preparing an anti-bacterial and anti-ultraviolet multifunctional chemical fiber includes: dissolving several soluble metal salts and a polymer complexing dispersant into water to prepare an aqueous solution; adding into a polymer monomer; reacting under microwave or hydrothermal action to obtain a polymer monomer containing multifunctional nano oxides; adding the polymer monomer with other monomer, catalyst, initiator, stabilizer, and the like into a polymerization reactor; and carrying out esterification, polycondensation or copolymerization to obtain a polymer melt, and carrying out spinning or ribbon casting and granule cutting to obtain an anti-bacterial and anti-ultraviolet multifunctional chemical fiber or masterbatch chips. By generating nano metal oxides in the monomer in situ before the polymerization reaction, small particle sizes and dispersibility of the nano metal oxide are ensured; the chemical fiber has efficient, durable antibacterial and anti-ultraviolet functions and is free of metal ion precipitation.