Facile preparation of high-performance fluorescent aramid using supercritical CO2

An ecofriendly printing strategy was developed for meta-aramid using supercritical CO2 as treatment medium. With 40% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and 60% guar gum as original paste, violet and yellow hue were obtained for the meta-aramid fabric. After supercritical CO2 treatment, 40% printing permeability with basic violet 16% and 60% printing permeability of basic yellow 40 were reached. Moreover, the fluctuation of stiffness, the air permeability and the breaking strength of the printed meta-aramid can meet on the wearable requirement. Compared with the water-based printed aramid, washing and rubbing color fastness rated above 4 were obtained at 160 °C for basic violet 16 and at 180 °C for basic yellow 40. In addition, the printed samples presented two-photo fluorescence, and the fluorescence emission uniformly distributed throughout the entire fabric surface, which demonstrates that the printed meta-aramid can be utilized as warning materials. [Display omitted] •Novel fluorescent warning textiles was developed using high-performance aramid.•Effects of supercritical CO2 treatment parameters on K/S values were studied.•Meta-aramid with strong fluorescence was successfully prepared.•Printing mechanism of meta-aramid in supercritical CO2 was proposed.