In this blog post, we will look at the structure and manufacturing principles of microfiber and scientifically examine how effective this material is at blocking house dust and mites.
Have you heard of bedding that prevents house dust and mites? It is a new technology that has been gaining attention in the clothing and bedding industry. Anyone who has ever browsed through various products to buy bedding or clothing has probably heard of this product and its raw material, microfiber.
Microfiber refers to fibers that are one-hundredth the thickness of a human hair. When used in products, these fibers create air pockets that are smaller than fine dust and house dust mites but larger than air molecules. This allows the fiber products to maintain breathability while blocking dust and mites from entering. This feature is especially helpful for people with allergies or sensitive skin. Because fiber products are breathable like earthenware and prevent fine dust from sticking and dust mites from living in them, they are often used in functional bedding and clothing. So how are these fibers, which are 100 times thinner than a strand of hair, made?
Conventional yarn is made by filling a hollow cylindrical tube with a liquid polymer material, applying pressure, and pulling out strands like noodles. However, to make ultra-fine fibers using the same method, it is necessary to first create a tube with a diameter of tens of nanometers, which is technically very difficult. Therefore, ultra-fine fibers are mainly manufactured by electrospinning, which uses an electric field rather than mechanical manipulation.
Electrospinning is a method of applying a high voltage to a liquid raw material to cause the molecules that make up the material to repel each other. Materials are made up of countless particles called molecules. When a high voltage is applied to a material, these molecules are affected and become electrically charged. It is similar to how people raise their voices in noisy places such as concert halls and markets. In places with strong electricity, molecules also become electrically charged, causing a phenomenon called electrostatic charge. Molecules with the same charge repel each other. Therefore, they push each other away. On the other hand, in liquid substances, there is also a force that attracts molecules to each other. This is surface tension, which causes molecules to clump together to minimize surface area. When the repulsive force caused by the charge becomes greater than the surface tension that causes the molecules to gather together, the liquid can no longer remain together and is sprayed out. This is why it is sprayed out in the form of liquid droplets. The sprayed liquid droplets gradually solidify as they pass through the air. They then transfer their charge to the air and gradually lose their charge. When this happens, the flow of liquid droplets that have lost a moderate amount of charge becomes unstable. As a result, the flow bends into a spiral shape and becomes long like a thread. This is how threads are created, just like the shapes made by ribbons used in ribbon gymnastics. This phenomenon continues until the threads reach a plate with a high voltage applied to it, which is located at a certain distance from the place where the liquid was electrified.
The process of creating nanofibers using electrospinning has remarkable characteristics. When spinning thread using conventional machines, different machines with different specifications must be introduced to create threads of different thicknesses. However, this is not necessary with electrospinning. The thickness can be adjusted simply by adjusting the voltage applied in electrospinning. The higher the voltage, the thinner the thread. This is because higher voltages apply more energy. It is the same as when a fragile object is dropped from a higher place, it breaks into smaller pieces. Liquids that receive a lot of energy from high voltages become more strongly charged and repel each other more. This strong repulsion overcomes the force that causes the liquids to clump together, allowing them to disperse into smaller droplets.
Another advantage of electrospinning is that it can combine different materials to create new functions. For example, nanofibers with antibacterial additives can inhibit the growth of house dust mites, bacteria, and mold. Fibers that combine different materials and functions are widely used in bedding, medical materials, sportswear, and industrial filters. This plays an important role in improving our quality of life.
We unconsciously use many microfiber products in our daily lives. They are used in a wide range of functional products, from bedding that prevents dust mites to functional sportswear and dust-removing towels. All of these functional products began with a small shift in thinking that converted physical force into electrical force. Seeing this, it is exciting to imagine how the world will change in the future when more revolutionary methods are developed and thinner, more specialized threads are created. Advances in science and technology are bringing innovation to even the smallest parts of our daily lives, and new materials such as microfiber will continue to prove their value in a wide range of fields.
