Nanotechnologies allow the production of yarns containing nanofibres for use in composites, membranes and biomedical materials. Composite yarns with a conventional thread core for mechanical strength and a nanofibrous envelope for functionality, e.g. biological, catalytic, have many advantages. Until now, the production of such yarns has been technologically difficult. Here, we show an approach to composite yarn production whereby a plume of nanofibers generated by high throughput AC needleless and collectorless electrospinning is wound around a classic thread. In the resulting yarn, nanofibres can form up to 80% of its weight. Our yarn production speed was 10 m/min; testing showed this can be increased to 60 m/min. After the yarn was embedded into knitwear, scanning electron microscope images revealed an intact nanofibrous envelope of the composite yarn. Our results indicate that this production method could lead to the widespread production and use of composite nanofibrous yarns on an industrial scale.

纳米技术可以生产含有纳米纤维的纱线，用于复合材料、膜和生物医学材料。具有用于机械强度的传统线芯和用于生物、催化等功能的纳米纤维包膜的复合纱线具有许多优点。到目前为止，生产这种纱线在技术上一直存在困难。在这里，我们展示了一种复合纱线生产方法，通过高通量交流无针无收集器静电纺丝产生的纳米纤维羽流缠绕在经典纱线上。在所得纱线中，纳米纤维可占其重量的 80%。我们的纱线生产速度为10 m/min；测试表明该速度可以增加至 60 m/min。将纱线嵌入针织品后，扫描电子显微镜图像显示复合纱线完整的纳米纤维包膜。我们的结果表明，这种生产方法可以导致复合纳米纤维纱线在工业规模上的广泛生产和使用。