Inherently colored antimicrobial fibers employing silver nanoparticles.

Here we are reporting a novel method of producing inherently colored antimicrobial fibers employing silver nanoparticles. Without using undesirable dyes and chemical finishes, colors as well as antimicrobial properties have been imparted in textile grade acrylic fibers through silver nanoparticles, in such a way that these properties become inherent part of the fibers. The motivation behind silver nanoparticles is their unique optical properties as well as biomedical applications. A composite solution of polyacrylonitrile copolymer containing silver nanoparticles, synthesized in-situ, was converted into fibers using solution spinning technique. The fibers, so formed, have in-built silver nanoparticles in size ranging from 20-120 nm. Colors ranging from red to blue could be prepared by varying the silver concentration, aggregate size and process. The antibacterial efficacy of the fiber was as high as 94.3% against Escherichia coli.

Carbon micro/nano spring structures in the absence of sulphurous promoter by CCVD method.

Carbon microcoils are generally prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition of acetylene, using Ni as the catalyst and thiophene as the promoter. In this work, a new catalyst has been developed on purpose to avoid the introducing of noxious and unpleasant thiophene during the reaction process. The products obtained at temperature of 740 degrees C were pure, regular and had perfect morphology. Scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy were employed to characterize the asprepared carbon microcoils.