Fabrication of UV-resistant poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole) (PBO) composite fibers/fabrics for air purification and acoustic attenuation

Developing viable and promising surface-engineering strategies to effectively improve the inherent defects (high surface chemical inertness and poor ultraviolet (UV) irradiation stability) of poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fiber/fabric while well promoting their real-world applications is of vital significance yet remains extremely challenging. Herein, the in situ heterogeneous nucleation and growth of a three-dimensional (3D) Metal-organic framework (MOF, namely University of Oslo-66 (UiO-66)), complexing with carboxyl-functionalized two-dimensional (2D) graphene oxide (GO-COOH) or one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotube (CNT-COOH), and synchronous attachment onto the surface of carboxyl-modified PBO fiber/fabric (PBO-COOH) with desirable surface modification effects were successfully materialized for the first time, based on a well-designed combination strategy that integrated the ingenious pre-assembly of reaction components on the surface of PBO-COOH fiber/fabric (mediated by multiple interactions among them) with a one-pot solvothermal reaction procedure. The as-fabricated PBO-COOH@UiO-66@GO-COOH (PUG) and PBO-COOH@UiO-66@CNT-COOH (PUT) fibers exhibited substantially elevated surface energies, surface roughness, interfacial shear strength (IFSS), and anti-UV aging properties (70.96 % and 85.93 %) compared to those of the desized PBO (PBO-Desized) fiber, primarily profiting from the excellent synergistic nano-enhancement and UV-protective effects of UiO-66 and GO-COOH or CNT-COOH. More encouragingly, the UV-resistant capabilities of PUG and PUT fibers after 96 and 144 h of UV irradiation were all within the range of state-of-the-art level among previously reported literature. Furthermore, the particulate matter removal, sound absorption, and noise reduction properties of PUG and PUT fabrics were expectedly strengthened in contrast with those of the PBO-Desized fabric, reaching the high and state-of-the-art levels among previously reported literature, respectively. This study will provide instructive references and insights for developing weather-resistant and versatile fibers/fabrics to realize desired applications in various fields.