Nanoparticles, including fluorescent and optically active species, are being utilized in everyday products more and more as both the cost and ease of production continue to improve. The rare earth elements, or lanthanides, are already widely used for their unique optical properties in applications ranging from optical communications, energy storage, digital displays, and bio-imaging. While silver nanoparticles have successfully been used in clothing for their antimicrobial properties, to date little work has been done investigating the optical properties of rare earth doped nanoparticles as they are incorporated into textiles and fabrics which may be of interest for multiple industries. In this work, we focus on incorporating rare earth doped fluorescent and persistent luminescent nanoparticles into textiles through spray-on, electrospinning, injection molding, and extrusion techniques, and measuring their optical properties to compare any effects from the incorporation processes. The rare earth doped nanoparticles were synthesized using a two-step hydrothermal synthesis followed by high temperature sintering in atmosphere. When sintering at high enough temperatures, the final step generates additional oxygen vacancies in the host crystal structure which allows for energy to be stored and slowly released which is observed as persistent luminescence. Visible and near-infrared spectroscopy was used to analyze the emission of the nanoparticles under ultraviolet excitation, and the relative intensities of the emission lines were used to determine any changes in the optical properties. Loading percentage of the nanoparticles was varied for the incorporation processes to optimize emission intensity while reducing any changes to mechanical strength of the fabrics. Additionally, electron microscopy was used to investigate how the nanoparticles were incorporated into the fibers for each of the different techniques.

Incorporation of rare-earth doped fluorescent and persistent luminescent nanoparticles into textiles and fabrics

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.