Design and facile manufacturing of tri-layer laminated polyolefin microfibrous fabrics with tailoring pore size for enhancing waterproof breathable performance

[Display omitted] •A novel tri-layer polyolefin composite fabric with excellent waterproof breathable performance is prepared by thermal bonding process.•The pore size of this composite fabric is adjustable by controlling thermal bonding pressures and the mass per unit area.•The composite fabric shows high strength and well filtration performance.•The composite fabric shows good writing performance and has good prospects for application in food packaging. Polyolefin functional textiles consisting of micron-nanoscale fibers effectively protect vulnerable things in many applications, however, uniformed micron-scale fiber diameter and uncontrollable pore size cause compromised strength and waterproof breathable performance. In this work, a tri-layer laminated polyolefin composite fabric consisting of polypropylene (PP) microfibrous webs and polypropylene/polyethylene (PP/PE) fibrous webs is successfully designed and manufactured by a thermal bonding composited process. At the bonding pressure from 0.05 to 0.45 MPa, the samples exhibit a smooth surface (roughness of 11.5 μm), dense laminated structure (porosity of 78.8 %), and tunable modal pore size ranged 9.36 to 3.3 μm. Specifically, an excellent filtration efficiency of 99.11 %, large waterproof breathable performance—hydrostatic pressure of 35.9 kPa, water vapor transmission of 1890 g/m2*24 h, and high strength—tensile strength of 175.33 N in the machine direction and 68.28 N in cross direction is achieved. The developed tri-layer laminated polyolefin composite fabrics also showed acceptable writing and printing quality, suggesting to be a favorable contender for application in food packaging, personal protection, and power-saving building.