Analysis of small-angle X-ray scattering from fibers: Structural changes in nylon 6 upon drawing and annealing

The changes in the fibrillar and the lamellar structure in nylon 6 fibers resulting from drawing and annealing were studied by a detailed analysis of their two-dimensional small-angle scattering patterns. The scattering object that gives to rise the diffuse equatorial scattering in the angular range of Q = 0.02 to 0.3 Å⁻¹ is assumed to be a fibril. There are two distinct regimes in the equatorial diffuse scattering. The scattering at Q < 0.1 Å⁻¹ is dominated by scattering due to the longitudinal dimension of the fibril, and that at Q > 0.1 Å⁻¹ to the lateral dimensions/organization of the fibril. The interfibrillar regions, unlike the interlamellar regions that are essentially made of amorphous chain segments, may have microvoids in addition to amorphous chain segments. The intensity distribution within the lamellar reflections was used to obtain the lamellar spacings and the dimension of the lamellar stacks. The length of the fibrils is between 1000 and 3000 Å, the higher values being more prevalent at lower draw ratios. The fibril length is larger than the length of the lamellar stack, and approaches the latter at higher draw ratios. Annealing does not change the lengths of the fibrils, but the length of the lamellar stack increases. The fibrils form crystalline aggregates with a coherence length of ∼200 Å at higher draw ratios. The diameter of the fibrils (50–100 Å) determined from the lamellar reflection using both the Scherrer equation and the Guinier law are consistent with the lateral size of the crystallites derived from wide-angle x-ray diffraction. The longitudinal correlation of the lamellae between the neighboring fibrils improves upon drawing and decreases upon annealing. The degree of fibrillar and lamellar orientation is about the same as the crystalline orientation. Lamellar spacing increases upon drawing (from ∼60 to 95 Å) and annealing (from ∼85 to 100 Å). This is accompanied by an increase in the width of the amorphous domains from 30 to 50 Å in drawn fibers, and from 45 to 55 Å in annealed fibers. The diameter of the fibrils decreases slightly upon drawing and increases considerably upon annealing. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Structure and mechanical behavior of nylon 6 fibers filled with organic and mineral nanoparticles. II. In situ study of deformation mechanisms

This study reports on the in situ characterization of the deformation mechanisms at room temperature of polyamide 6 (PA6) fibers filled with hyperbranched molecules or montmorillonite (MMT) platelets. A small‐angle X‐ray scattering study shows that the stretching and sliding of the microfibrils takes place concomitantly in the first stage of elastic loading of as‐spun and partially drawn fibers. In the second stage of loading, which is basically plastic, sliding turns out to be the main process of deformation, accompanied by a significant reduction in the microfibril radius. Fibers drawn close to their maximum draw ratio only display the deformation process of microfibril stretching. This in situ study also reveals subtle features of the reversible processes of deformation that could not be detected from ex situ experiments reported previously. A thickening of the crystal blocks in the microfibrils takes place under stress and disappears upon unloading, indicating that some reversible strain‐induced molecular ordering occurs in the amorphous layers close to the crystal surface. The tentative mechanical modeling enabled a characterization of the components of the fibers: the stiffness of the microfibrils appears to be insensitive to the presence of the particles that are excluded in the interfibrillar regions. The presence of HB molecules clearly increases the stiffness of the interfibrillar regions owing to a physical crosslinking effect. Moreover, it seems that the stiffness improvement of the drawn MMT‐PA6 fiber lies in a greater capability of chain unfolding in the interfibrillar amorphous region. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2633–2648, 2004     

Effects of the drawing form and draw ratio on the fiber structure and mechanical properties of CO2-laser-heated-drawn poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers

The structure, mechanical properties, and thermomechanical properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibers obtained by laser-heated drawing were investigated in terms of their dependence on the draw ratio and feed speed and the differences between neck-drawn fibers and flow-drawn fibers. The long period at a draw ratio of 6.0 reached 19.0 nm, notably larger than at lower ratios, whereas the tilting angle of the laminar structure was constant at about 60°, regardless of the draw ratio. A maximum value of 15.0 GPa was attained for the initial modulus, and 1.07 GPa was attained for the tensile strength. A higher tensile strength orientation-induced crystallized fiber at the same initial modulus was obtained from higher molecular weight PET. The relationship between the compliance and molecular orientation of the amorphous phase was studied with a series model of crystalline and amorphous phases. The results revealed that, in the high-draw-ratio fibers, the compliance of the amorphous phase decreased with the draw ratio at a higher rate than indicated by extrapolation to intrinsic values. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 79–90, 2004     

Study of molecular orientation in poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers by fluorescence polarization

Molecular orientation in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibers was studied by polarized fluorescence. The observed amorphous orientation of the spun as fiber was not random but uniaxial along the fiber axis. This orientation increased with draw ratio up to about 2 and then remained fairly constant. The amorphous regions of PET fibers were disoriented when the fibers were heated while unconstrained. The fluorescence data obtained were correlated with shrinkage measurements. Fluorescence data indicated that spin drawing had more effect upon orientation than subsequent drawing of the fiber, whereas birefringence data indicated the opposite. The reason for this behavior is discussed.     

Polymer fibers drawn to the limit

The orientational drawing of polymers is known to be terminated because of sample rupture. The limiting draw ratio λ_lim reached may be different (either large or small) depending on the polymer and the actual drawing conditions. The purpose of the present work is to identify the change of supermolecular structure of polymer fibers which results in the termination of orientational drawing. Small-and wide-angle x-ray diffraction were used to study the variation of geometrical parameters of this structure with increasing draw ratio λ. The geometrical parameters discussed are the dispersions (fluctuation) of long periods and of longitudinal sizes of crystalline as well as amorphous regions. In this study we used fibers of poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(ε-caprolactam), polyoxymethylene, and poly(4,4′-diphenyloxide) pyromellitimide. It is found that the long period dispersion of these polymers, drawn under different conditions, increases to approximately the same value for different samples drawn to the limit, this relative standard deviation δ_L of long periods being 0.30-0.40. It is also found that the crystallite size dispersion does not increase with increasing λ; the increase of λ_L is due to increasing dispersion of the amorphous region lengths. For poly(vinyl alcohol) fibers drawn to the limit under different conditions and which have different λ_lim, the relative standard deviation of the sizes of amorphous regions δ_A turned out to be about the same (ca. 0.60). The latter evidence gives grounds to suggest that the rupture of polymers under drawing is associated with reaching a high degree of amorphous region size dispersion. In those regions which are considerably below the average size there probably will appear local overstress and molecular ruptures because the relative deformation of these regions is much larger than that of the adjacent regions in the cross section of the sample.     

Thermal behavior of drawn acrylic fibers

The effect of stretching on the thermal behavior of acrylic fibers was investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In air atmosphere, the peak temperature of the dynamic DSC thermogram was significantly lowered from 289 to 273 °C when the gel fibers (undrawn) were drawn to a draw ratio of 11.2. However, the initiation temperature was unchanged at 202 °C. The shoulder in the region of 310–380 °C was gradually converted to a sharp peak during the drawing process. However, the dynamic DSC in nitrogen atmosphere did not change in all cases. In air atmosphere the total heat liberated, ΔH, for gel fiber was 851 J g^?1. However, upon drawing to 11.2, ΔH increased to 1580 J g^?1 showing an increase in the total chemical changes. An intimate relationship of chemical changes during the heating process was observed with FTIR of heated samples at various temperatures. The initiation of a DSC exotherm in air begins with nitrile cyclization, and subsequently dehydrogenation was initiated between 220 and 260 °C. An increase in the X‐ray orientation factor and sonic modulus gave a correlation between the stretching draw ratio and crystalline/overall molecular orientation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 2949–2958, 2003     

Drawing of ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene single-crystal mats: The crystallinity

Single-crystal mats of ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene can be drawn uniformly to high draw ratios, more than 20χ at the highest, after the necking process is completed. The dynamic mechanical modulus of the drawn mats increases markedly during the uniform drawing stage. The structural changes induced by the uniform drawing at 100°C have been followed by wide-angle and small-angle x-ray scattering, infrared absorption, differential scanning calorimetry, and birefringence. The crystallinity is estimated from the x-ray amorphous scattering intensity, the IR absorbance of gauche bands, the heat of fusion from DSC, and the density. The estimated crystallinities of the drawn mats are all very high and increase slightly and monotonically with increased drawing after necking, though the values of the crystallinity depend on the method of estimation. IR gauche bands and the SAXS peak due to the long period disappear at a draw ratio of about 80χ. All the results suggest that the uniform drawing after necking destroys the two-phase structure made up of alternately stacked crystalline and amorphous regions and then reorganizes it into a single-phase crystalline structure.     

Correlation between the tensile properties and network draw ratio of CO2‐laser‐heated drawn poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers

Low‐orientation and amorphous poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers were drawn continuously with heating by carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser radiation. The tensile properties were examined in terms of the birefringence and network draw ratio, which was estimated from the strain shift of true stress–strain curves. Two drawing forms, neck drawing with a draw efficiency (the ratio of the network draw ratio to the actual draw ratio) of about unity and flow drawing with a draw efficiency of about zero, were found to be stable in the continuous drawing process. Meanwhile, any draw‐efficiency value between zero and unity could be obtained in the batch‐drawing process. The object whose orientation was estimated by the network draw ratio differed from that estimated by birefringence. Two linear relationships were found, between the network draw ratio and tensile strength and between the birefringence and initial modulus. The true stress at breaking increased with the network draw ratio of the CO₂‐laser‐heated drawn fibers, and when the draw ratio exceeded 5.0, it became higher than that for batch‐drawn fibers. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 2322–2331, 2003     

Plastic deformation of polypropylene VII. Long period as function of temperature and rate of drawing

Polypropylene fibers prepared by quenching in ice-water were drawn at 25, 80, 120, and 140°C to a draw ratio between 6 and 8 at draw rates 0.05, 0.5, 5, and 50 cm/min. The long period increases almost linearly with the draw rate for drawing at 25°C and decreases for drawing at higher temperatures. The effect in the latter cases is an annealing effect. As a consequence of the shorter exposure of the drawn fibers to the high temperature at higher draw rate, the long-period growth proceeds for a shorter time and hence results in a smaller increase of long period. At 25°C, however, the long-period growth is negligible. The increase of long period with draw rate is the consequence of higher adiabatic heating as calculated from the energy input during the plastic deformation which transforms the spherulitic into the fibrous structure. One concludes that the long period established during this transformation depends on the maximum temperature reached in the micronecking zone and not on the macroscopically observed temperature of the sample in the neck.     

Crystalline behaviors and phase transition during the manufacture of fine denier PA6 fibers

Recently we have successfully produced fine denier PA6 fibers by using additives containing lanthanide compounds. Meanwhile, crystallization and phase transition of PA6 fibers during spinning and drawing processes were investigated. During the spinning process, β phase crystal could be obtained in as-spun PA6 fibers which were produced with relatively high melt draw ratio, while γ phase crystal predominated when the melt draw ratio was relatively low. β phase crystal, whose behaviors are similar with those of γ phase by FT-IR and XRD characterization, could be transformed to α form easily when PA6 fibers are immersed in boiling water. However, γ phase crystal of PA6 remains unchanged in boiling water. Thus, β and γ phase crystals of PA6 can be differentiated by the crystalline behaviors of PA6 fibers after treatment in boiling water. Further experiments demonstrate that the β phase can also be produced during a drawing process where a phase transformation from γ to α occurs. In other words, β phase may act as an intermediate state during the phase transformation.     

X-RAY SCATTERING STUDIES ON NYLON-1010

From Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) pattern of uniaxially orientated fibers, the crystal structure of Nylon-1010 was determined. The Nylon-1010 crystallizes in the triclinic system, with lattice dimensions: a=4.9A, b=5.4A, c=27.8, α=49 °, β=77 °,γ=63.5 °, the unit cell contains one monomeric unit and the space group is P. The degree of crystallinity of polymer was deter mined as about 60%, using Ruland's method.The structures of Nylon-1010 with different draw ratio have been investigated by using Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS). The results indicate that the draw ratio of samples has a significant effect on microstructure of Nylon-1010. The long period and thickness of amorphous layer obviously increase but the invariant, average lameUar and interphase zone show almost independent of draw ratio, long period increases because amorphous layer increases with draw ratio. The electron density fluctuation values increased with draw ratio, but inner surface O_s is drecreased.     

细旦尼龙6纤维加工过程中的晶型转化行为

通过引入富镧稀土化合物等添加剂,成功实现了细旦尼龙6纤维的熔融纺丝．考察了在纺丝卷绕成型以及牵伸过程中尼龙6纤维的晶型变化．借助XRD和FT－IR等研究手段,发现尼龙6在纺丝过程中可以生成亚稳态的B晶型晶体．这种β晶型经过沸水处理后很容易转化为α晶型,而γ晶型尼龙6经沸水处理后不发生相转变．因此可以通过沸水热处理的方法区分尼龙6的β和γ晶型．在纤维的卷绕过程中,当熔体拉伸倍数较高时,尼龙6可能产生β晶型;当熔体拉伸倍数较低时,则以γ晶型为主．在纤维的牵伸过程中,γ晶型经过β晶型中间态向α晶型相转变．上述结果对于指导改进细旦尼龙6纤维的加工工艺以及提高产品性能有指导意义．     

Changes of the Molecular Mobility of Poly(<Emphasis Type="Italic">ε</Emphasis>-caprolactone) upon Drawing,Studied by Dielectric Relaxation Spectroscopy

Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) of poly(ε-caprolactone) with different draw ratios showed that the mobility of polymer chains in the amorphous part decreases as the draw ratio increases.The activation energy of the α process,which corresponds to the dynamic glass transition,increases upon drawing.The enlarged gap between the activation energies of the αprocess and the β process results in a change of continuity at the crossover between the high temperature a process and the α and β processes.At low drawing ratios the a process connects with the βprocess,while at the highest drawing ratio in our measurements,the a process is continuous with the a process.This is consistent with X-ray diffraction results that indicate that upon drawing the polymer chains in the amorphous part align and densify upon drawing.As the draw ratio increases,the α relaxation broadens and decreases its intensity,indicating an increasing heterogeneity.We observed slope changes in the α traces,when the temperature decreases below that at which τα ≈ 1 s.This may indicate the glass transition from the ‘rubbery’ state to the non-equilibrium glassy state.     

Structure development and physical properties achieved in the drawing and/or annealing of PEN fibers

As‐spun poly(ethylene‐2,6‐naphthalate) (PEN) fibers (i.e., precursors) prepared from high molecular weight polymer were drawn and/or annealed under various conditions. Structure and property variations taking place during the treatment process were followed via wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS), small‐angle X‐ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and mechanical testing. Both the WAXS and DSC measurements of the cold‐drawn samples stretched from a low‐speed‐spun amorphous fiber indicate that strain‐induced crystallization can occur at a temperature below the glass‐transition temperature and that the resultant crystal is in the α‐form modification. In contrast, when the same precursor was subjected to constrained annealing, its amorphous characteristics remained unchanged even though the annealing was performed at 200 °C. These results may imply that the application of stretching stress is more important than elevated temperatures in producing α‐form crystallization. The crystalline structure of the hot‐drawn samples depends significantly on the morphology of the precursor fibers. When the precursor was wound at a very low speed and in a predominantly amorphous state, hot drawing induced the formation of crystals that were apparently pure α‐form modification. For the β‐form crystallized precursors wound at higher speeds, a partial crystalline transition from the β form to the α form was observed during the hot drawing. In contrast with the mechanical properties of the as‐spun fibers, those of the hot‐drawn products are not improved remarkably because the draw ratio is extremely limited for most as‐spun fibers in which an oriented crystalline structure has already formed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 1424–1435, 2000     

Effect of drawing on the α relaxation of poly(vinyl alcohol)

The α relaxation of isotropic and drawn poly(vinyl alcohol) dried gel films was studied using dynamic mechanical analysis. The temperature of the relaxation T_α increased from 160°C in the isotropic gel to 220°C in a fiber drawn 19 ×. The relaxation, which is associated with the crystalline regions of the material, also decreased continuously in magnitude as drawing proceeded, although crystallinity increased. At draw ratios over 12 ×, the relaxation became difficult to resolve, and no relaxation was observed in fibers drawn over 19 ×. The melting points of the fibers increased with draw ratio, but not enough to account for the large change in T_α. Crystal thickness in the fiber direction also increased with draw ratio. An analogy is drawn to the case of polyethylene where crystal thickness has been found to control T_α. The absence of a resolvable α relaxation is one reason why it is difficult to draw poly(vinyl alcohol) gels to extremely high ratios.     

Change of morphological properties in drawing water‐swollen cellulose films prepared from organic solutions. a view of molecular orientation in the drawing process

Drawable water‐swollen cellulose films were prepared by coagulating in water two different cellulose organic solution systems. The drawability of the water‐swollen films was dependent on the rate of coagulation. Transparent films prepared by the slow coagulation showed good drawability and had a maximum draw ratio of 2.0. However, the drawn films maintained the highly noncrystalline state even after dried at 50°C under vacuum. X‐ray analysis and polarized FT‐IR measurements performed under a saturated deuterium oxide vapor of these dried drawn films, prepared by slow coagulation, showed that their noncrystalline regions (more than 80%) as well as crystalline regions (less than 20%) were highly oriented by the drawing process. Furthermore, meridional intensity curves in the X‐ray diffraction exhibited interesting patterns even though the drawn sample was highly noncrystalline. In fact, they are quite different from those in regenerated cellulose II fibers. However, despite this increase in draw ratio and in the orientation of the chains, the number of crystalline domains in the films did not increase significantly. This may perhaps be attributed to the three‐dimensional network structure resulting from the intermolecular hydrogen bonds between chains which are maintained through the drawing process and which can hinder the crystallization of cellulose. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 451–459, 1999     

Orientation of polypropylene fibre

The modulus of elasticity and the degree of orientation of the amorphous phase of a polypropylene fibre drawn at 130 °C in the range of drawing ratios between 2 and 7.1 was determined by the sonic method and by birefringence. The degrees of orientation of the amorphous phase determined by the two methods differ from each other. This has been explained by a model concept wherein the intrafibrillar taut tie molecules affect the mechanical, but not the optical properties of the system; the lamellar structure becomes fibrillar already at the drawing ratioλ=2 and the orientation of the fibrils is almost completed at the drawing ratioλ=4. Further drawing leads to the strain of interfibrillar tie molecules; atλ=6.5 the fibrils slide past each other, and interfibrillar tie molecules become strained.     

Effects of drawing on creep parameters of polyoxymethylene-drawn fibers

The effects of drawing on creep parameters (modulus, viscosity, and retardation time) of polyoxymethylenedrawn fibers were examined on the basis of a series-parallel, four-element, mechanical model. These parameters increased with the draw ratio. The change in the modulus was the same between the series and parallel components. This was true also for the viscosity, although the change in the viscosity was much greater than that in the modulus. This means that the series and parallel components are deformed in the same mode by drawing. The parallel viscosity increased with elapsed loading times according to an experimental power function; this was also derived from the usual rate equation for viscosity change in the amorphous component. In contrast, the series viscosity remained unchanged over the short creep range due to an extremely larger value than that of the parallel. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Melt spinning and laser‐heated drawing of a new semiaromatic polyamide,PA9‐T fiber

Fibers of PA9‐T, a new semiaromatic polyamide containing a long aliphatic chain, were prepared by melt spinning. As‐spun fibers were subsequently drawn with a CO₂ laser‐heated drawing system at different draw ratios and various drawing velocities. On‐line observations of drawing points deciphered two drawing states; namely, flow drawing and neck drawing, over the entire range of drawing. Drawing stress revealed that flow drawing is induced by slight drawing stress under a low draw ratio up to 3, and neck drawing is induced by relatively high drawing stress under a higher draw ratio. The effect of drawing stress and drawing velocity on the development of the structure and properties has been characterized through analysis of birefringence, density, WAXD patterns, and tensile, thermal, and dynamic viscoelastic properties. For the neck‐drawn fibers, almost proportional enhancements of crystallinity and molecular orientation with drawing stress were observed. The flow‐drawn fibers have an essentially amorphous structure, and birefringence and density do not always have a linear relation with properties. The fibers drawn at high drawing speed exhibit improved fiber structure and superior mechanical properties. The maximum tensile strength and Young's modulus of PA9‐T drawn fibers were found to be 652 MPa and 5.3 GPa, respectively. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 433–444, 2004     

Small-angle x-ray diffraction studies of plastically deformed polyethylene. II. Influence of draw temperature,draw ratio,annealing temperature,and time

The angular dependence of scattering intensity of drawn polyethylene (PE) was investigated with a small-angle Kratky camera. At constant drawing temperature the intensity drops drastically with increasing draw ratio; however, the position and the half-width of the first maximum remain nearly unchanged. The drop in intensity can be explained only by a reduction of effective electron density difference between amorphous and crystalline components. The latter contains more vacancies, and the former contains more and better packed tie molecules. This increases the average density of the amorphous layer and decreases that of the crystalline component. As the temperature of the drawing increases, the draw ratio attainable at the applied draw rate drops and the intensity of scattering and the long period rapidly increase. In addition, a second-order maximum appears, indicating a better order of lamellar stacking, in good agreement with electron microscopy. The first annealing effect is an extremely rapid increase in scattering intensity and long period. The subsequent increase is rather slow and proportional to the logarithm of annealing time. The long period in such an experiment is independent of the draw ratio; however, the scattering intensity depends on it quite strongly even after prolonged annealing.