Nano titanium dioxide/PAoQ-coated polybenzoxazol fibers for enhancing anti-ultraviolet performance

Abstract

Inspired by the composition of adhesive in mussels, polydopamine has been widely used for surface modification of various materials. In accord with the formation mechanism of polydopamine coating, the catechol containing two o-phenol groups and triethylenetetramine (TETA) containing two primary amine groups were used to copolymerize and deposit a polyamine-o-benzoquinone polymers (PAoQ) film on the polybenzoxazol (PBO) fibers. In order to enhance the anti-ultraviolet performance of PBO fibers, rutile nano titanium dioxide particles (TiO2) were also decorated on the PBO fibers by the layer-by-layer self-assembling technique. The optimum modification conditions were obtained by orthogonal method. Morphological structure and chemical composition of the modified fibers were studied using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The UV-aging test results showed that under 144 h UV-light exposure at 340 nm, the modified PBO fibers’ strength retention was promoted to 80.8%, 34.4% higher than that of the original PBO fiber. The thermal stability of the modified fibers had no obvious change after modification with TiO2/PAoQ, while their carbon residue rate increased slightly.