Isothermal heat treatment of a thermotropic LCP fiber

The effect of the heat treatment on as-spun fibers made of a commercial liquid crystalline polymer, Vectra®, was examined through tensile properties and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. The heat treatment increased the fiber strength considerably, and it also increased the elongation at break. On the other hand, the treatment had a weaker effect on the modulus. In general, the effects of treatment depended on the temperature and on the treatment time used. DSC measurements showed the effect of the treatment on the behavior of the melting endotherm. In light of the development of this endotherm, it seems possible that the structure formed during treatment depends essentially on the treatment temperature. On the whole, an unambiguous correlation between tensile properties and calorimetric quantities could not be concluded.