Scale-up of Novel Gold Nanoparticle-Wool Fibre Composites: A Commercialisation Success Story

摘要

Gold nanoparticles are known for their remarkable optical properties; they exhibit localised surface plasmon resonance bands in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. This has led to their use as luxury dyes for the colouring of fine merino yarns. Gold nanoparticle-wool fibre composites are being fabricated into high-quality apparel for international markets. The innovative nanotechnology utilises the affinity of gold for sulfur-containing cystine residues in wool fibres to bind the gold nanoparticles. The uniform dyeing of wool fibres on the laboratory scale is easily reproducible. However, when the process is scaled-up, preventing colour variation across a kilogram of woollen yarn is a significant challenge. To overcome this, industrial package dyeing flow reactors were used to uniformly dye kilogram quantities of fine merino yarn. The pathway from synthesis in the laboratory to pilot-scale production of gold nanoparticle-wool fibre composites is presented.