Design and performance assessment of pleated woven fabrics synthesized from shape-memory polylactic acid via ring-opening polymerization

Abstract

Shape-memory polylactic acid (SMPA) textiles exhibit thermally responsive shape-recovery properties making them ideal for advanced, dynamic garment applications. This study compared mechanical, thermal, and comfort performance between SMPA-1 and SMPA-2 fabric variants. SMPA fibers were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization from L-lactide, crosslinked using hexamethylene diisocyanate. Two variants were prepared: SMPA-1 (M_w = 70,000 g/mol, T_g = 55°C) and SMPA-2 (M_w = 120,000 g/mol, T_g = 65°C). Fabrics were woven, pleated, and assessed via cyclic fatigue (10,000 cycles), dynamic mechanical analysis, abrasion resistance, thermomechanical profiling, and comfort wear trials. Statistical analyses were done to compare performance metrics at p < 0.05. SMPA-2 demonstrated superior mechanical and shape-memory performance, with a 4.842 MPa increase in tensile strength and a 3.525% increase in elongation compared with SMPA-1 (p < 0.0001). Pleat recovery decreased slower (0.01266% per fatigue cycle) over 10,000 cycles, confirming excellent shape-memory effect retention. SMPA-2 exhibited a lower abrasion mass loss rate of 2.184 × 10⁻⁶ g per cycle (p < 0.0001) and a storage modulus decline of 4.832 MPa/°C, indicating strong thermal stability. In comfort metrics, SMPA-2 achieved the highest water vapor permeability (up to 37.71 g/m² h more than the control, p < 0.0001) and the lowest thermal conductivity (0.035 W/m K), with wear trials showing improved thermal regulation (ΔT = +0.2342°C, p < 0.0001). SMPA-2 textiles offer enhanced mechanical, thermal, and comfort properties, strongly supporting their use in smart, adaptive clothing applications.