Abstract:

This paper presents the results of a study into textile composite materials designed to be used for the manufacture of insoles for permeation-resistant protective footwear (all-rubber). Due to the special conditions in which the insoles are to be used, it was assumed that they should have heightened hygienic and bioactive properties with respect to bacteria and fungi, and they should also be resistant to mechanical stress. Several variants of melt-blown nonwovens were engineered on the basis of polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), and polyamide (PA) to be used in composite materials. Also a method was developed for ultrasound bonding of composite layers. A series of laboratory experiments showed bioactive composite materials based on PC melt-blown nonwovens to have optimum properties from the point of view of the application of insoles in rubber footwear. The composites are characterised by very good mechanical properties (resistance to abrasion, tearing and bond strength), hygienic properties (pH of aqueous extracts, water vapour permeability, water vapour coefficient, water absorption and desorption, thermal resistance), and microbiological properties (tests for the following bacteria: Escherichia coli and Streptococcus aureus and fungi: Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes).