Premium
Structural changes of gel drawn, ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene fibers with kerosene as a solvent
Author(s) -
Xiao C. F.,
Zhang Y. F.,
An S. L.,
Jia G. X.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.11156
Subject(s) - materials science , orthorhombic crystal system , crystallinity , crystallite , fiber , composite material , polyethylene , solvent , polymer , polybutene , crystallography , crystal structure , organic chemistry , chemistry , metallurgy
Fibers of ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW‐PE) were prepared with the gel fiber drawing method. The solvent and extraction solvent used were a general kerosene and gasoline, respectively. The structural changes in the fibers during the drawing process were examined by wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), polarizing optical microscopy (POM), and a density gradient column. During the drawing process, a folded chain structure transformed into an extended‐chain in the fiber, the density of the fibers increased, and the dimensions of the orthorhombic crystallite size tended towards a narrow distribution simultaneously with the increasing draw ratio. The orthorhombic unit cell dimensions for the fiber with a draw ratio of 40 were a = 0.732 nm, b = 0.491 nm, and c = 0.254 nm. In the fiber with a draw ratio of about 40, kink bands were observed. It is suggested they correspond with the local crystalline slip due to the effect of winding tension. Also, the smaller the winding roller diameter, the more clearly they can be observed. In this work, the effect of the existence of kink bands on the structures of orientation and crystallinity of fiber bulk was not observed.