Wool-Polymer Composites: A Comprehensive Review on Preparation, Properties, and Applications
Natural fiber-polymer composites are increasingly capturing the interest of researchers due to their environmental benefits. These composites predominantly utilize plant fibers, valued for their superior mechanical strength, while animal fibers remain comparatively underexplored. Wool is an importan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Natural Fibers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15440478.2025.2495921 |
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| author | Seiko Jose Sunita Boruah Sushma Rani |
| author_facet | Seiko Jose Sunita Boruah Sushma Rani |
| author_sort | Seiko Jose |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Natural fiber-polymer composites are increasingly capturing the interest of researchers due to their environmental benefits. These composites predominantly utilize plant fibers, valued for their superior mechanical strength, while animal fibers remain comparatively underexplored. Wool is an important natural fiber, obtained from sheep. The fine wool is mainly employed for the preparation of garments or clothing products, whereas medium coarse wool is used for rugs and upholstery. However, many sheep breeds produce very coarse, non-textile grade wool and remain under-utilized. Wool fiber exhibits unique physical properties such as crimp, resilience, and fire resistance, making it highly suitable for diverse applications in composites. Physical, chemical, and biochemical modification techniques improve the compatibility of wool with hydrophobic polymer matrix during composite preparation. Better mechanical properties could be imparted by the addition of fillers or using hybridization with other natural/synthetic fibers. This review compiles recent advancements in wool-polymer composites, detailing their physical and mechanical attributes and exploring a range of potential applications. It also highlights the use of surface treatments, consequences of fillers, and blending techniques that improve the functionality and stability of wool-polymer composites for contemporary applications. The wool composites could find applications in thermal and acoustic panels, home furnishing, and fashion accessories. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-404df248ffda470bb69552d2f67339e6 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1544-0478 1544-046X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Natural Fibers |
| spelling | doaj-art-404df248ffda470bb69552d2f67339e62025-08-20T03:09:17ZengTaylor & Francis GroupJournal of Natural Fibers1544-04781544-046X2025-12-0122110.1080/15440478.2025.2495921Wool-Polymer Composites: A Comprehensive Review on Preparation, Properties, and ApplicationsSeiko Jose0Sunita Boruah1Sushma Rani2Textile Manufacture and Textile Chemistry Division, ICAR- Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar, IndiaDepartment of Textiles and Apparel Designing, College of Community Science, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, IndiaDepartment of Textile and Apparel Designing, I.C. College of Home Science, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, IndiaNatural fiber-polymer composites are increasingly capturing the interest of researchers due to their environmental benefits. These composites predominantly utilize plant fibers, valued for their superior mechanical strength, while animal fibers remain comparatively underexplored. Wool is an important natural fiber, obtained from sheep. The fine wool is mainly employed for the preparation of garments or clothing products, whereas medium coarse wool is used for rugs and upholstery. However, many sheep breeds produce very coarse, non-textile grade wool and remain under-utilized. Wool fiber exhibits unique physical properties such as crimp, resilience, and fire resistance, making it highly suitable for diverse applications in composites. Physical, chemical, and biochemical modification techniques improve the compatibility of wool with hydrophobic polymer matrix during composite preparation. Better mechanical properties could be imparted by the addition of fillers or using hybridization with other natural/synthetic fibers. This review compiles recent advancements in wool-polymer composites, detailing their physical and mechanical attributes and exploring a range of potential applications. It also highlights the use of surface treatments, consequences of fillers, and blending techniques that improve the functionality and stability of wool-polymer composites for contemporary applications. The wool composites could find applications in thermal and acoustic panels, home furnishing, and fashion accessories.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15440478.2025.2495921Biocompositescoarse woolfillershybrid compositesnatural fiberssurface modification |
| spellingShingle | Seiko Jose Sunita Boruah Sushma Rani Wool-Polymer Composites: A Comprehensive Review on Preparation, Properties, and Applications Journal of Natural Fibers Biocomposites coarse wool fillers hybrid composites natural fibers surface modification |
| title | Wool-Polymer Composites: A Comprehensive Review on Preparation, Properties, and Applications |
| title_full | Wool-Polymer Composites: A Comprehensive Review on Preparation, Properties, and Applications |
| title_fullStr | Wool-Polymer Composites: A Comprehensive Review on Preparation, Properties, and Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wool-Polymer Composites: A Comprehensive Review on Preparation, Properties, and Applications |
| title_short | Wool-Polymer Composites: A Comprehensive Review on Preparation, Properties, and Applications |
| title_sort | wool polymer composites a comprehensive review on preparation properties and applications |
| topic | Biocomposites coarse wool fillers hybrid composites natural fibers surface modification |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15440478.2025.2495921 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT seikojose woolpolymercompositesacomprehensivereviewonpreparationpropertiesandapplications AT sunitaboruah woolpolymercompositesacomprehensivereviewonpreparationpropertiesandapplications AT sushmarani woolpolymercompositesacomprehensivereviewonpreparationpropertiesandapplications |