Method to incorporate particles in natural fibers and materials

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention relate to materials containing performance-enhancing particles. In particular, but not by way of limitation, the invention is related to mechanically attaching a performance-enhancing particle to various substrates including, but not limited to, natural materials such as cotton, wool, and down.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for attaching an active particle to a substrate, the method comprising:
 a. dispersing a plurality of polymer-chain-coupled particles in a solvent, wherein
 i. each polymer-chain-coupled particle comprises at least one polymer chain and an active particle with a diameter of 0.2 μm-50 μm, and 
 ii. the solvent relaxes the at least one polymer chain; 
   b. adding a substrate to the organic solvent to create a mixture, wherein the substrate comprises a fiber; and   c. adding a non-solvent to the mixture, wherein
 i. the non-solvent causes the polymer chain to collapse and mechanically bond to the substrate, and 
 ii. the mechanical bond is not a chemical bond. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the active particle has a porosity of ≥10 g/m 2  and adsorbs 1%-50% (w/w) water. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the active particle is not soluble in water or dimethylformamide. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the active particle is a zeolite. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is added to the solvent at step (c) in an amount that provides a ratio by weight of 1%-10% of polymer-chain-coupled particles to substrate in the mixture. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of polymer-chain-coupled particles are made by combining the active particles with the polymer chains at a ratio of 3:1-10:1 by weight, respectively, wherein the polymer chain binds to the active particle through an epoxide bond. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer chains have an average length that is greater than ten units. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the polymer chains have an average molecular weight of 100 Daltons-5,000 Daltons. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fiber comprises a natural fiber selected from the group consisting of cotton, wool, and down. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the solvent comprises an alcohol, and the non-solvent comprises water. 
     
     
         11 . A method for making a functional fabric comprising the steps of:
 a. combining zeolite particles with activated polydimethylsiloxane at by-weight ratio 3:1-10:1, respectively, in a solution containing isopropyl alcohol with a pH of 4-5.5 adjusted with acetic acid to form polymer-chain-coupled particles;   b. drying the polymer-chain-coupled particles to form a powder;   c. combining the powder with a fabric containing natural fibers in a ratio of 1%-10% (w/w), respectively, in 95% ethanol;   d. incubating the combination of step (c) for 5-30 minutes;   e. adding water to the combination at a volume that is at least 3-times the volume of the 95% ethanol and incubating about 5-30 minutes;   f. removing the ethanol and water from the fabric; and   g. drying the fabric.   
     
     
         12 . A system comprising a substrate and a plurality of particles, wherein each of the particles is bonded to a plurality of polymer chains, and wherein the particles are mechanically bonded to the substrate by said plurality of polymer chains. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the particles comprise active particles. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the particles comprise zeolites. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the particles adsorb between one and 50 percent by weight of water. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the particles have a porosity of greater than 10 g/m 2 . 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the particles have an average particle diameter of between 0.2 and 50 microns, inclusive. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the particles comprise between one and ten percent of the weight of the substrate, inclusive. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the polymer chains are coupled to the particles using silanes or siloxanes. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the substrate comprises a natural fiber. 
     
     
         21 . A system comprising a natural fiber and a plurality of active particles having a porosity of greater than 10 g/m 2 , wherein each of the active particles is bonded to a plurality of polymer chains using silanes or siloxanes, and wherein the active particles are mechanically bonded to the natural fiber by said plurality of polymer chains.