High-speed Melt Spinning of Nanoparticle-filled High Molecular Weight Poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Abstract

Abstract High molecular weight poly(ethylene terephthalate) (HMW-PET) (intrinsic viscosity of 0.809 dL/g) and its nanocomposites with 1 wt.% organoclay C12PPh-Cl− and 1 and 2 wt.% trisilanol isobutyl-poly(hedral oligomeric silsesquioxane) (POSS) were high-speed melt spun over the range of take-up speeds 1 to 4.5 km/min, and the effects of nanoparticle type on the fiber properties were investigated. The clay and POSS nanocomposites exhibited quite different melt spinning behaviors. The neat PET and PET/POSS nanocomposites showed a neck-like deformation distinctly from the take-up speed of 3.5 and 3 km/min while PET/clay nanocomposites did not show any neck-like deformation over the entire spinning speed range. In comparison with nanocomposite chips clay gave rise to re-aggregation of nanoparticles whereas POSS made little change in dispersion. Clay suppressed the crystallization of PET during high-speed spinning although it had more effective nucleation effects at the static state than POSS. Clay nanocomposite fibers gave lower modulus and higher elongation at break than PET fibers. On the other hand, the mechanical properties of POSS nanocomposite fibers were almost equal or slightly better than PET fibers.