Enhanced Mechanical Performance of Self‐Bundled Electrospun Fiber Yarns via Post‐Treatments

Abstract

AbstractA new route to high‐performance electrospun polymer fibers was developed using a self‐bundling electrospinning technique combined with post‐treatments such as stretching and annealing under conditions similar to those used for conventional fibers. Self‐bundled electrospun PAN fiber yarns were characterized by SEM, mechanical tests, polarized FT‐IR spectroscopy and WAXD. The obtained results revealed that the PAN nanofiber yarns possessed enhanced alignment, a higher degree of crystallinity and higher molecular orientation after treatments, resulting in a remarkable improvement in mechanical performance, approaching the strength value of the corresponding conventional fibers.magnified image