Light-Dependent Properties of Finishing and Leather Defects

The uniformity of the colour in leathers for the furnishing and automotive sectors is a particularly important feature, especially for white or light-coloured articles, intended to the high-end market;on these articles any colour alteration can be very visible and unpleasant, with possible technical and economic consequences for the producers. In a previous study, we analysed the possible causes behind the formation of some peculiar pink/salmon stains on different kinds of white/beige/light-coloured leather furnishing items, where we focalized our attention on TiO2 properties and its possible interaction with some organic-based antioxidants. In recent years, due to many other similar cases of defects that occurred to tanners and to upholstery traders, we decided to enhance the investigations concerning this topic. More in detail we analysed, defective leathers, powder pigments and chemicals, in order to identify the possible role of some substances in this issue, with particular reference to some antioxidants and aluminosilicates, where several diagnostic techniques have been utilised, as ATR-IR (Attenuated Total Reflectance IR Spectroscopy), SEM-EDX (Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis), XRF (X-ray Fluorescence spectrometry), GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry), and DSC/TGA (Differential scanning calorimetry/Thermogravimetry) equipment.

Leather for flexible multifunctional bio-based materials: a review

Nowadays, diverse leather usage conditions and increasing demands from consumers challenge the leather industry. Traditional leather manufacturing is facing long-term challenges, including low-value threshold, confined applica-tion fields, and environmental issues. Leather inherits all the biomimetic properties of natural skin such as flexibility, sanitation, cold resistance, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and other cross-domain functions, achieving unre-mitting attention in multi-functional bio-based materials. Series of researches have been devoted to creating and developing leather-based flexible multi-functional bio-materials, including antibacterial leather, conductive leather, flame-retardant leather, self-cleaning leather, aromatic leather, and electromagnetic shielding leather. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the commonly used leather-based functional materials. Furthermore, the possible challenges for the development of functional leathers are proposed, and expected development directions of leather-based functional materials are discussed. This review may promote and inspire the emerging preparation and applications of leather for flexible functional bio-based materials.

Insights into functional polymer-based organic-inorganic nanocomposites as leather finishes

Nowadays,the increasing demands from consumer challenges the traditional leather products.Traditional polymer leather finishes gradually lose their dominant position in the market.To address this issue,recent research effort has been devoted to developing polymer-based organic-inorganic nanocomposite leather finishes due to their various functional properties including antibacterial,self-cleaning and water-resistant property.In this review,we provide a comprehensive overview of synthesis of polymer-based organic-inorganic nanocomposites and their application as functional leather finishes.With the perspective of their properties and current challenges,an outlook in the future development about crafting functional and high-quality leather finishes are further proposed.