Cotton Is The Best Fabric For Your Clothes
Chemically Proving Its Breathability
Hey! I’m a chemistry enthusiast here to spread the wonders of chemistry
So Why Is Cotton The Best Fabric?
Cotton’s superiority lies in its breathability. Breathability is vital for comfort and athletic activities and allows you to move around without grasping for breath every 100 steps. But how does breathability even work? Let’s check it out!
How Does Breathability Work?
There’s 2 major factors to consider: Air Permeability and Moisture Vapour Transmission.
Long words — let’s break them down!
- Air Permeability:
This is the fabric’s ability to allow air to flow through it. Fabrics with high air permeability allow for better ventilation which helps keep you cool and comfortable.
Imagine being constricted by a viper (hopefully it’s only limited to your imagination). That’s exactly what breathability prevents!
- Moisture Vapour Transmission:
This refers to the cloth’s ability to enable moisture vapour (your sweat mainly) to escape from the body. Good moisture management prevents the cloth from becoming drenched and helps keep the skin dry.
It sucks when your clothes get all sweaty after a tough workout. That’s when you realise how important breathability is for fabrics.
But maybe you’re not convinced on breathability still. How about we look into its positive effects a bit more!
Importance Of Breathability
- Comfort: breathable fabrics keep your body cool and dry by allowing sweat to evaporate, reducing the likelihood of chafing and discomfort. With a breathable fabric, you don’t need to continuously pull on your round neck to feel nimble.
- Performance: In athletic clothes, breathability helps regulate body temperature and manage sweat, improving overall performance and endurance. Those shorts move best when they aren’t sticking to your legs all the time.
- Health: Proper breathability reduces the risk of skin issues like rashes, infections, and odours caused by trapped moisture and bacteria growth. That headband seems insanely underrated now doesn’t it!
Okay, now that you know about breathability and how incredible a factor it is in fabric selection, let’s move onto why you should go for cotton.
Chemical Properties of Cotton
Cotton is a natural fibre and it’s mainly composed of cellulose (structure shown below)
Cellulose is a complex substance by its structure but it’s essentially a polymer of glucose, i.e. a molecule formed by linking a ton of glucose molecules in a specific manner.
There are two main reasons why cotton and specifically cellulose enhance the breathability of cotton fabrics:
- Hydrophilicity:
- The cellulose molecule is rich in hydroxyl groups (-OH parts of the structure). These groups are polar by nature (The O — oxygen part is bigger and attracts electrons more than the H — Hydrogen part).
- This gives it the ability to form hydrogen bonds with water molecules (The -OH groups of both substances interact strongly with each other).
- This allows cotton to absorb moisture from the skin (form hydrogen bonds with the water molecules on the skin) and release it into the air (allow water molecules to move up the fabric and evaporate into the air).
2. Natural Crimp:
- Cotton fibres have a natural twist or crimp, creating small air pockets within the fabric when woven or knitted.
- These air pockets improve air circulation as they allow air to flow through the fabric.
Of course, other fabrics have properties that make them breathable too and most fabrics can be synthesised in a way as to have breathable characteristics; however, cotton is a great example of this major property.
Final Words
I hope you had a fun time reading through the article. Clap loads if your found something that was new to you. Share your thoughts about the topic and whether you agree with me or not.
Thanks for reading! All support is appreciated immensely.
X account: @K_Inferno1
