Microstructure and mechanical properties ofin-situ network composite fibres of PBZT with nylon

Abstract

A method for preparing composite fibres by infiltrating nylon into swollen poly(p-phenylene benzobisthiazole) (PBZT) fibre is described. PBZT fibre forms a microfibrillar network structure during the coagulation process.In-situ network composite (IC) fibres may be prepared by exchanging the coagulant with a solution containing the desired matrix material. These new composite fibres exhibit nearly identical mechanical properties and similar thermomechanical properties to those of so-called molecular composite (MC) fibres prepared from isotropic solutions of PBZT and nylon in methane sulphonic acid (MSA), The mechanical properties of these fibres were determined before and after heat treatment under tension. The structure of pure PBZT and its composite fibres (ICs' and MCs') were characterized using nitrogen adsorption (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) experiments), small-angle X-ray scattering, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM, respectively). The structure of both composite fibres was found to be a microfibrillar network of PBZT in a matrix of amorphous nylon. The average diameters of the PBZT microfibrils were in the range of 10 to 20 nm forin-situ network composites and approximately 4 nm for molecular composites.