Polyester Fiber and Microfiber Structure by Critical Dissolution Time

Abstract

A polyester microfiber and two classic fibers from the same manufacturer are examined using the critical dissolution time in phenol. In order to characterize the structures, we subject the yarns to a heat setting process at different temperatures. The monofilaments are initially tested at constant phenol temperature. The results show that the microfiber has a structure allowing good diffusion of the solvent. This property remains true even after heat treatment. On the other hand, the classic fibers show a similar behavior. Measurements of crystallinity by x-ray diffraction show that the microfiber and the circular filament are very close. This indicates that super-drawing induces the creation of longitudinal crystal zones, which do not overlap very much. Finally, the activation energy confirms this assumption. The energy barrier of the microfiber remains weak despite its increase according to the heat setting temperature.