Tailoring Differential Moisture Transfer Performance of Nonwoven/Polyacrylonitrile-SiO2 Nanofiber Composite Membranes

Liquid moisture (sweat) transport properties of textile materials play critical role in maintaining the comfort of body which are mainly controlled by surface chemistry, structure, and morphology of substrate. Herein, a dual layer surface treated nonwoven (NW)/electrospun nanofiber membrane with excellent differential liquid moisture transport characteristics is reported. NW is used as inner layer for its high moisture releasing and low moisture absorbing features, and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as outer layer because of its decent hydrophilic nature. Wettability of NW is tailored by surface treatment with polydopamine, and the wicking characteristics of PAN nanofibers are enhanced by inducing hydrophilic SiO2 nanoparticles (PAN-SiO2). Performance of resultant surface treated NW (TNW)/PAN-SiO2 nanofiber composite membranes is thoroughly characterized by moisture management tester (MMT). Subsequent composite membranes offer high wettability gradient which leads to their marvelous MMT performance with an outstanding one-way transport capacity of 1413%, excellent overall moisture management capacity of 0.99, and a decent water vapor transfer rate of 12.73 kg m(-2) d(-1), indicating a potential candidate for faster sweat release applications.