Investigation and fabrication of multifunctional metal composite knitted fabrics

Two types of crisscross-section polyester (CSP)/antibacterial nylon (AN)/stainless steel, multifunctional metal hybrid yarns were produced using a hollow spindle spinning machine. The core yarns were both stainless steel wires. One type used an AN filament as inner wrapped yarn and CSP as the outer wrapped yarn, and the other type had the opposite composition. Furthermore, a circular knitting machine was successfully used to fabricate metal composite knitted fabrics with the hybrid yarns. Results indicated that wrapping numbers affected wicking behavior and drying capability. Electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE) measurements showed that fabrics with varied lamination angles provided better EMSE than the parallel arrangement. The optimum EMSE measured in this study would reach up to –35 dB within the low-frequency range of 50–425 MHz and nearly –20 dB within the high-frequency range of 300 KHz to 1.47 GHz for a fabric with 0°/45°/90°/–45°/0°/45° lamination angles. Finally, the antibacterial activity of the produced metal composite fabric was assessed against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria according to the AATCC 90-2011 standard.