Fabrication of polyester fabrics with tungsten bronze nanorods and a silane coupling agent for improved thermal storage and washing durability

Abstract The thermal storage and washing durability of polyester fabrics treated with tungsten bronze nanorods(TBNRs) were analyzed to determine the optimal concentration for the photothermal effect in this study. TBNRs with an average length of 34.0 ± 2.5 nm and a diameter of 2.3 ± 0.4 nm were synthesized by the thermal decomposition of Ammonium metatungstate hydrate(AMT) in oleylamine (OA) to generate TBNRs that are capable of emitting heat by efficiently absorbing light in the near-infrared region. The effect of TBNR concentration and the silane coupling agent on the photothermal effect and washing durability of the PET fabric were evaluated with a solar simulator. As a result, as the concentration of TBNRs increased, the photothermal effect increased, and the maximum photothermal effect was shown at 5 wt%. In addition, washing durability were further improved by adding 0.5 wt% silane counpling agent. Overall, the post-processing treatment effectively increased the photothermal effect without a significant change in the physical properties and color of the polyester.