Publications by authors named "Xianwei Cheng"

The development of highly durable flame-retardant (FR) silk textiles has significant practical implications. This study presents an innovative in situ deposition technique for imparting durable functionality to silk textiles. Insoluble FR compounds were formed within silk fibers by reacting tetrakis(hydroxymethyl) phosphine sulfate and dicyandiamide with a phosphate ester compound.

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The development of sustainable and durable flame-retardant protein silk fabric without compromising its physical properties is of interest but challenging. In this study, a fully biobased reactive flame-retardant, vanillin phytate, was synthesized from biomass phytic acid and vanillin. Subsequently, vanillin phytate was covalently grafted onto silk fabrics along with diethyl phosphite under mild conditions via the Kabachnik-Fields reaction.

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In order to shorten the process of textile printing with natural dyes, develop new methods, and improve the color fastness and quality of printed products, this study presents a novel approach by synthesizing a natural complex dye through the interaction between purpurin and Fe ions, resulting in a compound named purpurin-Fe (P-Fe). This synthesized complex dye was meticulously characterized using state-of-the-art analytical techniques, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry, and scanning electron microscopy energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The characterization confirmed the successful complexation of purpurin with Fe ions.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Car@PDA was tested on wool fabric, showing impressive improvements in flame resistance, with an oxygen index of 32.5% and a significant reduction in fire damage, even after 10 washes.
  • * The modified wool fabric effectively encouraged charring, resulting in lower heat release and fire growth rates, while maintaining its strength and feel, presenting a sustainable alternative for fire safety in textiles.
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The facile development of a sustainable and durable flame-retardant approach for protein silk is of interest. Inspired by silk tin-weighting technology, this study developed a novel and sustainable in-situ deposition strategy based on biomass phytic acid to impart durable flame-retardant performance to silk fabrics. The chemical structure of insoluble chelating precipitation, and the surface morphology, thermal stability, combustion behavior, flame-retardant capacity, laundering resistance, and flame-retardant mode of action of the tin-weighting silk samples, were explored.

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The durable flame-retardant functional coating of polyester/cotton (T/C) blend fabrics is both interesting and challenging. In this study, a novel in-situ polymerization strategy for phosphorus/nitrogen-based flame-retardant on T/C blend samples was developed through the polycondensation of tetramethylolphosphonium sulfate, dicyandiamide, and anionic cyclic phosphate ester. The chemical structure of the polycondensation compounds, as well as the surface morphology, combustion behavior, flame-retardant capacity, washing durability and flame-retardant mechanism of the coated T/C blend fabrics, were investigated.

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For protein fibers, polycarboxylic acids represent a green strategy to enhance durability without using formaldehyde. This study evaluated the physical and flame retardant properties of silk fabrics treated with three formaldehyde-free crosslinkers: citric acid (CA), 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA), and 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (PBTCA). Results showed that these acids bond with silk protein through esterification and amidation, improving washing durability.

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The use of biobased flame-retardant (FR) agents for reducing the flammability of polyester/cotton (T/C) blend fabrics is highly desirable. In this study, a novel and sustainable phosphorus/nitrogen-containing FR, namely, phytic acid-urea (PA-UR) salt, was synthesized. The PA-UR salt was further used to enhance the FR performance of T/C fabric through surface modification.

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Nowadays, high value-added and multifunctional textiles have attracted widespread attention due to the changing demands of modern life. This study focused on the fabrication of silk with photochromism, flame retardancy, UV resistance and durability using riboflavin sodium phosphate (RSP) and various metal ions (Fe, Fe, Al, and Ti). Attractively, the photochromic performance was one of the most distinctive features of the modified silk, and the yellow silk fabric turned into fluorescent green under UV lamp.

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Article Synopsis
  • Polyester/cotton blend fabrics are prone to catching fire, prompting the development of a new flame retardant made from eco-friendly materials like phytic acid and boric acid.
  • This flame retardant was applied to the fabrics, significantly enhancing their fire resistance, with a notable increase in the limiting oxygen index and a 50% reduction in heat release.
  • The study found that the treated fabrics demonstrated self-extinguishing properties and preserved their thermal stability, indicating the potential for using this sustainable solution in improving textile safety.
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This study focused on the effect of saline and alkaline stress on six typical wetland plant species during seed germination and early seedling growth stages. Based on the indicators of germination, seedling growth and ionic absorption in seedlings, relatively saline and alkaline tolerant plant species were selected and tolerance mechanism was discussed. Results showed that the existence of saline and alkaline stress inhibited the capacity of germination and early seedling growth of most tested plant species to varying degrees, therein effects of saline-alkaline stress were greater than saline stress.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Natural bioactive compounds, specifically tannic acid, are being used to enhance the antibacterial and antioxidant properties of silk textiles through an adsorption technique.
  • - The study found that the amount of tannic acid adsorbed on silk increased as the pH decreased from 7 to 3, and the adsorption process followed specific kinetic and isotherm models.
  • - Treated silk fabrics showed strong and lasting antibacterial and antioxidant effects without significantly affecting their whiteness, indicating that tannic acid is an effective functional agent for creating healthier silk materials.
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This study aims to evaluate the practical potential of using constructed wetlands (CWs) for treating saline wastewater containing various heavy metals. The results demonstrated that CWs growing Canna indica with porous slag as substrate could efficiently remove heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) from saline wastewater at an electrical conductivity (EC) of 7 mS/cm, especially under low influent load. Salts with salinity level (characterized as EC) of 30 mS/cm suppressed the removal of some heavy metals, dependent on heavy metal species and their influent concentrations.

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In this study, the influence of vegetation type and environmental temperature on performance of constructed wetlands (CWs) was investigated. Results of vegetation types indicated that the removal of most nutrients in polyculture was greater than those in monoculture and unplanted control. The greatest removal percentages of NH-N, total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) in polyculture were 98.

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This study aims to evaluate how plant species, influent loads and salinity levels affect the removal of nutrients from saline wastewater using constructed wetlands (CWs). CWs planted with Canna indica showed the greatest removal percentages among the four tested species for nitrogen (N) (∼100%) at both low and high influent loads, and ∼100% and 93.8% for phosphorus (P) at low and high influent loads, respectively at an electrical conductivity (EC) of 7 mS/cm (25 °C).

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Bio-based phytic acid (PA) as a nontoxic naturally occurring compound is a promising prospect for flame-retardant (FR) modifications to polymers. In this work, PA was applied to wool fabric using an exhaustion technique, and the adsorption and FR properties of PA on wool fabric were studied. The flame retardancy of the treated wool fabrics depended greatly on the adsorption quantity of PA, which was related to the pH of treatment solution, immersing temperature and initial PA concentration.

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