SBIR Phase II: Innovative Nylon Fibers with Performance

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project includes streamlining textile recycling processes to lower operational costs for textile manufacturers and creating economic incentives for nylon fabrics. The project focuses on new approaches for manufacturing nylon fibers for the textile industry. The commercial development of a monomaterial nylon yarn with better or similar performance characteristics than current nylon fibers has broad benefits. The project has the potential to reduce the impact of discarded textiles, since disassembly is expensive and recycling these fabrics is difficult and energy intensive. The fiber technology to be developed is designed to work within existing infrastructure, reducing reliance on foreign manufacturers and the expectation of lowering operational costs for textile manufacturers through streamlined processes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project aims to create a nylon fiber with built-in resistance for enhanced fiber performance. This will enable the complete replacement of pollutive spandex (elastane) fibers from performance apparel and facilitate the transition from laboratory-scale to a commercially ready product line of monomaterial nylon. The project aims to deliver a  spandex-free stretch nylon yarn that performs equivalently -or better- than conventional nylon/spandex blends and can be used in real-world apparel manufacturing without requiring changes to processing infrastructure. The primary technical innovation is to impart stretch in a highly crystalline polymer (such as nylon) by disrupting its periodic crystalline structure, creating a fabric with built-in stretch, producing a new elastic and recyclable product for the apparel industry. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.