Speaker
Description
In collaboration with our industrial partner (Less Is More) we investigated the influence of different plant-based dyes on the structure and mechanical properties of hair. Human hair was chosen for its wide interest in commercial applications and yak belly hair because it contains no melanin, which is favourable in Raman spectroscopy. It is furthermore available in larger quantities than human hair, which would also make it an interesting material for quality control of hair dyes.
Small-angle X-ray scattering was used to determine the structure on the nanoscale, scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy for visualizing details on surfaces and cross-sections of hairs at the microscale.
A new technique to simultaneously determine Young’s modulus and Poisson ratio of fibres with non-circular cross-sections was developed. This method allows the measurement of the elastic properties of (biological or technical) fibres with even pronounced elliptical cross-sections.
Our research shows that the molecular structure of human hair and yak belly hair is very similar. However, there are strong structural differences, in particular the much higher porosity of yak belly hair, which leads to a considerably higher colour uptake, and the different surface structure. This limits the substitution of human by yak belly hair in dye development.
| Speaker Country | Österreich |
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