Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Behind the Fabric — Understanding Chemical Fiber Classification

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

👉 Behind the Fabric — Understanding Chemical Fiber Classification

Chemical fibers form the backbone of modern textiles, enabling performance, scalability, and functional innovation that natural fibers alone cannot achieve. Based on the framework shown in the reference chart, chemical fibers are broadly defined as fibers produced from natural or synthetic polymers through chemical processing, and they are generally classified into #regeneratedfibers, #syntheticfibers, and #inorganicfibers.

1️⃣ Regenerated Fibers

Regenerated fibers are produced by chemically processing natural polymers and then re-forming them into fibers. Although manufactured, their polymer origin remains natural.

Regenerated Cellulose Fibers

Typical examples include viscose rayon, modal, and lyocell. These fibers are valued for their softness, moisture absorption, breathability, and comfort, making them widely used in apparel and intimate textiles.

Regenerated Protein Fibers:

Derived from natural proteins such as soybean protein, corn protein, or milk protein, these fibers offer a soft handfeel and skin-friendly properties, though they are used more selectively due to cost and performance limitations.

2️⃣ Synthetic Fibers

Synthetic fibers are produced entirely from chemically synthesized polymers, offering consistent quality, high durability, and engineered performance.

Key categories include:

Polyamide (Nylon, PA) – Known for strength, abrasion resistance, and elasticity

Polyester (PES / PET) – Excellent dimensional stability, durability, and versatility

Acrylic (PAN) – Wool-like appearance with good bulk and warmth

Vinyl (PVA) – Specialized applications with chemical resistance

Polypropylene (PP) – Lightweight, moisture-resistant, and chemically stable

Spandex (PU / Elastane) – Exceptional stretch and recovery, critical for performance and fitted garments

These fibers dominate functional apparel, sportswear, swimwear, and technical textiles due to their tunable properties.

3️⃣ Inorganic Fibers

Inorganic fibers such as glass fiber, ceramic fiber, metal fiber, and carbon fiber are primarily used in industrial and technical applications, where heat resistance, strength, or conductivity are required rather than comfort.

Why This Classification Matters

Understanding chemical fiber classification is essential for material selection, product development, and performance engineering. Each fiber group reflects a different balance between comfort, durability, elasticity, chemical resistance, and end-use suitability. In modern textile design, fiber choice is no longer about “natural vs. synthetic,” but about matching polymer behavior to functional demand.

Behind every finished fabric lies a deliberate fiber decision—this is where textile performance truly begins.

source : George Jia

#fabric #textile #innovation

Roehm Introduces ACRYLITE® SunResist: Advanced UV Protection Meets Premium Performance

#Roehm proudly announces the launch of #ACRYLITE®SunResist, a breakthrough in capstock technology and the first of its kind under the ACRYLITE® brand, Roehm’s polymethyl methacrylate (#PMMA) products in the Americas.

Engineered for manufacturers who demand durability, aesthetics, and efficiency, ACRYLITE® SunResist sets a new benchmark for #outdoor applications including #windowconstruction, decking, outdoor furniture, #façades, and recreational components that must perform and look exceptional in high‑exposure environments.

Outdoor products face relentless UV, temperature swings, and abrasion. ACRYLITE® SunResist is a PMMA molding compound that has been formulated to create ultra‑thin co‑extruded protective layer that block harmful UV light up to 400 nm to help preserve color and surface integrity, reducing fading and degradation over time. Beyond its inherent UV and weather resistance, ACRYLITE® SunResist is designed for superior weatherability, maintaining color and gloss even under prolonged sunlight and moisture – ideal for components that must retain a premium appearance season after season.

ACRYLITE® SunResist elevates finished parts with a premium surface quality that offers precise gloss management, surface hardness and #abrasionresistance, as well as chemical resistance, enabling high end aesthetics without sacrificing robustness. Mechanical integrity is reinforced by high impact strength and heat stability, which help to prevent stress cracking, warping, or distortion at elevated temperatures.

For processors, ACRYLITE® SunResist was tuned for high flowability and a broad processing window. These attributes support smoother extrusion/co extrusion, help reduce scrap and improve overall productivity. ACRYLITE® SunResist demonstrates best in class adhesion to compatible substrates, designed to prevent brittle edges during cutting and to resist cap layer peeling. This is key for complex profiles, cut to size parts, and post fabrication operations.

Performance Indicators

UV and weather resistance: High UV absorbance up to 400 nm supports the product’s protective role against #photodegradation and color shift.

Color Fastness (Xenon Arc, ASTM G155 Cycle 1): Tests indicate a focus on minimizing perceptible color change over time in accelerated weathering, reinforcing the long term appearance goal for outdoor products.

Mechanical & Thermal Profile: Comparative framing highlights high flexural strength, notched Izod impact performance, and elevated heat deflection temperature, supporting resistance to bending, impact, and heat related deformation.

source : Roehm

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share :How important have composite materials

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

📢 Time to get technical... 📢

How important have composite materials been during the history of mankind? This schematic shows the relative importance of the four classes of materials (metals, polymers, composites, and ceramics) in engineering as a function of time! 😮

Composites have been part of human engineering for thousands of years.

But their role stayed relatively modest… until fiberglass changed the game.

Since the 1960s, composites have moved from niche solutions to core engineering materials. Enabling lighter structures, higher performance, and designs that simply aren’t possible with monolithic materials. 💡

That steady rise in relevance isn’t accidental.

It reflects how modern engineering thinks: optimize, tailor, and do more with less.

So let’s open the discussion:

What should define the next decade of composite materials and where should innovation focus next?

source: Material Selection in Mechanical Design / 4th Edition, Michael F. Ashby

credit:The Native Lab

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : New plastic material could solve energy storage challenge, researchers report

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

New plastic material could solve energy storage challenge, researchers report

In the race to lighter, safer and more efficient electronics — from electric vehicles to transcontinental energy grids — one component literally holds the power: the polymer capacitor. Seen in such applications as medical defibrillators, #polymercapacitors are responsible for quick bursts of #energy and stabilizing power rather than holding large amounts of energy, as opposed to the slower, steadier energy of a battery. However, current state-of-the-art polymer capacitors cannot survive beyond 212 degrees Fahrenheit (F), which the air around a typical car engine can hit during summer months and an overworked data center can surpass on any given day.

“Advances in the full systems for electric vehicles, data centers, space exploration and more can all hindered by the polymer capacitor,” said co-first author Li Li, postdoctoral scholar in Penn State’s Department of Electrical Engineering. “Conventional polymer capacitors need to be kept cool to operate. Our approach solves that issue while enabling four times the power — or the same amount of power in a device four times smaller,

Capacitors store less energy than batteries, but they charge and discharge their power much quicker. A mobile phone, for example, has a battery that charges from a power source. The energy it stores comes from many internal chemical-electrical reactions over a period of time that keep the phone working. Extra functions, like the flash on the phone’s camera, require a burst of energy. A capacitor is responsible for discharging that extra bang of power.

Most polymer capacitors fail at high temperatures because they are made of polymers with long chains of molecules that have low glass-transition temperatures, meaning the molecules turn from rubbery and malleable to brittle and fragile like glass at relatively low temperatures. Polymers can be found in natural materials, but are also synthetically produced to make thin, flexible films, thick, rigid plastics and everything in between. When the polymers and other material mix, their nanostructures — at the atomic level — form interfaces to varying degrees. They can leak electric charges, the researchers said, and the problem worsens at high temperatures.

“Normally, you can’t have both high energy density and high temperature tolerance in one dielectric polymer — we achieved both by mixing two commercially available high-temperature polymers.

The researchers combined #PEI, originally produced by General Electric and often used in pharmaceutical production, and #PBPDA, a polymer with high heat resistance and electric insulation. When mixed together at suitable temperatures, the molecular components of the polymers self-assembled into #3Dstructures, which the researchers used to make #thinfilms.

source : Penn State College of Engineering

Bodo Möller Chemie signs worldwide supply contract with Airbus

Airbus will be drawing on the Bodo Möller Chemie Group’s expertise in #adhesives for aerospace applications in the future. Having entered into force this year, the supply contract for delivering innovative adhesive technology systems to several international plants marks a significant strategic milestone in the expansion of Bodo Möller Chemie’s aerospace activities. The company’s EN 9120 certifications worldwide guarantee high quality and process standards.

The aerospace industry is one of the world’s most strictly regulated and technologically demanding sectors. Safety, complete traceability, and compliance with clearly defined quality standards play a crucial role in the industry, particularly when it comes to selecting high-performance adhesive solutions. The Bodo Möller Chemie Group will help meet these high requirements in the future by supplying an extensive adhesive technologies portfolio to several international #Airbus plants. The collaboration is based in particular on the broad certification of #BodoMöllerChemie sites in accordance with EN 9120, many years of partnerships with leading suppliers such as Dow, DuPont, Elkem, Henkel, and Huntsman and on the company’s worldwide presence with branches in more than 40 countries.

EN 9120 certification is an essential prerequisite for supplying this sector. This standard guarantees end-to-end traceability, process reliability, and standardized processes, essential requirements for a global cooperative partnership with manufacturers like Airbus. Bodo Möller Chemie already holds this accreditation at multiple locations, including in Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Israel, China, India, and Mexico. Fifteen further international branches are currently undergoing the certification process.

“The collaboration with Airbus confirms our consistent focus on quality, certification, and technical excellence in the #aerospace sector. Our teams worldwide have worked intensively in recent years to tailor processes, logistics, and expertise precisely to the high demands of this industry. This supply agreement is the result of these joint efforts and a strong signal for our continued international growth.

“The highest standards and a stable global supply are crucial for the industry. It is precisely in this challenging environment that we can leverage our strengths: a broad-based, high-performance portfolio, in-depth technical expertise, and internationally positioned teams that implement complex requirements reliably and in partnership. The supply agreement with Airbus underscores our long-term commitment to the aerospace sector and our role as a reliable global partner,” explains Lionel Breuilly, Managing Director Bodo Möller Chemie West Europe, North Africa, India, Middle East, APAC.

source : Bodo Möller Chemie

Albemarle Completes Sale of Controlling Stake in Ketjen to KPS Capital Partners

Albemarle Corporation , a global leader in providing essential elements for mobility, energy, connectivity, and health, today announced it has completed the sale of a controlling stake in #Ketjen Corporation's refining catalyst solutions business (Ketjen) to affiliates of KPS Capital Partners, LP (KPS).

Albemarle retains a minority stake in Ketjen, with KPS having a majority of the Board of Directors and operational control. Albemarle retains 100% ownership of Ketjen's Performance Catalyst Solutions business, which has been integrated into Albemarle's product portfolio.

Combined with the sale of its 50% interest in the Eurecat joint venture to Axens SA, which was completed in January 2026, Albemarle has received a combined $670 million in pre-tax proceeds between the two transactions. Albemarle expects to use the proceeds for debt reduction and other general corporate purposes.

"Our continued investment in Ketjen alongside #KPS demonstrates our confidence in the company's growth and value-creation potential," said Kent Masters, Chairman and CEO of #Albemarle. "We are committed to supporting Ketjen's next chapter while strengthening Albemarle's portfolio focus and financial flexibility.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor, and K&L Gates LLP served as legal advisor to Albemarle for the transaction.

source : PRNewswire