A review of actively moving polymers in textile applications

Actively moving polymers being developed rapidly have drawn wide attention. A review is presented to highlight the most important areas and directions in textile applications. The molecular structure of actively moving polymers is introduced firstly. The textile applications of actively moving polymers are then summarized from the fibre spinning (including wet spinning, melt spinning and electro-spinning), fabric manufacturing, shape memory finishing technologies and water vapor permeability investigation. Additionally, the challenges of actively moving polymers in textile applications are pointed out and some research directions are suggested.