Method for preparing salt-resistant and detergent-resistant alginate fiber
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Solution Overview
Problem
Alginate fibers are prone to swelling and dissolution when exposed to salt and alkaline detergents, limiting their application in textiles due to ion-exchange interactions that break coordination-crosslinking structures, and existing modifications do not adequately address salt and detergent resistance.
Innovation Solution
A method involving infiltration of alginate fibers with a borate-containing adjuvant solution, which forms an interpenetrating network structure to reduce ion-exchange rates, maintaining fiber morphology and enabling resistance to salts and alkaline detergents, while using inorganic borate compounds to crosslink the fibers instead of organic agents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If alginate fiber is used in textile applications, then it provides excellent biodegradability and biocompatibility, but it swells and dissolves when contacted with salt solutions due to ion-exchange interactions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining alginate fiber with borate crosslinking agents to create a new composite structure. The borate forms coordination crosslinks with the alginate chains, creating a composite network that maintains the biodegradability and biocompatibility of alginate while adding salt resistance through the borate-alginate coordination bonds that prevent ion-exchange induced swelling and dissolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical parameter of the fiber by introducing borate crosslinking. The borate ions (B(OH)4-) form coordinate covalent bonds with the hydroxyl groups of alginate, changing the physical-chemical parameters of the fiber structure. This crosslinking transformation converts the linear alginate chains into a three-dimensional network, fundamentally altering the fiber's response to salt solutions by preventing the ion-exchange mechanism that causes swelling.
2Shape
If existing crosslinking agents are used to improve fiber morphology, then coordination-crosslinking structures are formed, but the fiber loses morphology and dissolves in salt solutions due to ion-exchange interactions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite crosslinked structure where borate ions form coordination bonds with multiple alginate chains simultaneously. This composite crosslinking network reinforces the fiber morphology by creating a three-dimensional gel structure that physically restrains the alginate chains, preventing them from separating and dissolving during ion-exchange with salt solutions. The borate acts as a multifunctional crosslinker that maintains structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The borate ion serves as an intermediary crosslinking agent that mediates between the alginate chains. Instead of using divalent cations (Ca2+, Mg2+) that participate in ion-exchange reactions and cause swelling, the borate forms covalent-like coordination bonds that do not exchange with salt ions. This intermediary crosslinking mechanism protects the fiber morphology by creating a stable network that is immune to ion-exchange attacks.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The borate-modified alginate fibers exhibit excellent salt resistance and can be washed with alkaline detergents without dissolution, maintaining mechanical properties and flame resistance, thus overcoming the limitations of existing alginate fibers.
Implementation Method 1
incorporating a borate-containing adjuvant and using selected proper raw materials in selected proportions, reaction conditions and the like, and thus the problem that an alginate fiber and a fabric made therefrom are neither salt-resistant nor detergent-resistant is solved
Implementation Method 2
When the alginate fiber currently researched at home and abroad is contacted with a solution containing Na+, K+ and H+ ions, an ion-exchange interaction occurs between these ions and divalent cations contained in the alginate fiber
Implementation Method 3
the fiber is swelled to break coordination-crosslinking structures within the alginate fiber, leading to a loss of fiber morphology
Data Source
AI summary
A method for preparing a salt-resistant and detergent-resistant alginate fiber by contacting and infiltrating a finished alginate fiber with a borate-containing adjuvant solution and using selected proper raw materials in selected proportions and reaction conditions. The preparation method solves the problem that the alginate fiber and a fabric made therefrom are neither salt-resistant nor detergent-resistant. The borate-modified alginate fiber and a fabric made therefrom have excellent salt resistances, and can be washed with an alkaline detergent. The swelling degree of the alginate fiber modified by the adjuvant solution can be reduced to 39.8% after the fiber is immersed in a normal saline at 30° C. for 72 h and can be reduced to 55.3% after the fiber is immersed in a standard detergent for 24 h, while the fiber maintains its original morphology without any obvious dissolution phenomenon, and the self flame-resisting performance of the alginate fiber is also maintained.