Regenerated cellulose woven fabric reinforced hydrogel composite

Abstract

This study evaluates the effects of different aqueous borax solutions on the morphology, mechanical, thermal and chemical properties of regenerated cellulose fiber woven fabric reinforced hydrogel composites. The fabric reinforced hydrogel composites were fabricated with PVA/viscose ring, PVA/viscose open-end (viscose OE), PVA/viscose continuous filament (viscose CF) blended woven fabrics. Mechanical tests results showed that regenerated cellulose fiber woven fabric reinforced hydrogel composites made from PVA/viscose CF (380 N) exhibited better mechanical performance than its viscose ring (258 N) and viscose OE (318 N) counterparts. Another significant result, evaluated using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) data analysis showed that there was a high level positive and meaningful relationship between borax-water concentration and breaking force at the breaking points of regenerated cellulose woven fabric reinforced hydrogel composites in the warp direction. The results have suggested that the regenerated cellulose fabric reinforced hydrogel composites with enhanced mechanical properties could be used as agricultural water retention materials and in geotextiles applications.