Fabrication and characterization of impact-resistant core-spun yarn fabrics with a hydroxylated fullerene-strengthened shear thickening fluid

Shear thickening fluid (STF) is investigated to strength soft armor; however, its impact resistance still does not meet practical needs. In this work, a small amount of hydroxylated fullerene (C(60)) was mixed with STF to improve the thickening ratio. First, furfuryl alcohol (FA) was grafted onto C(60) through a Diels–Alder (D–A) reaction to improve the dispersity of C(60) in the STF. Sheath-core composite fibers (polyketone (PK) as the sheath and STF as the core) were then fabricated by coaxial electrospinning. Finally, composite fibers containing STF and C(60) were wrapped on the surface of aramid yarns to fabricate a core-spun yarn. Under impact, these core-spun yarns manifested the characteristics of aramid fibers and the thickening advantages of the STF, solving problems of the hygroscopicity, migration, and leakage of STF. In addition, the content of STF was also greatly increased. The spike punching resistance of the core-spun yarn fabric is about 2.8 times that of the aramid fabric (AF) under the same area density. Impact-resistant core-spun yarn fabrics could provide a new direction for the development of soft armor.