The Process of Gel Fiber Formation

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe gel fiber formation was studied for the spinnable silica sols prepared from a mixture of TEOS, H2O, EtOH and HNO3 ( 1 : 2 : 2 : 0.01, in mole ratio). The effect of polysiloxane molecular size in the spinning sol on spinnability indicated that the tough skeleton of gel, which is preferable for fabrication of high-strength fiber without breakage, was formed by the selective connection of large size polymers (about 106 in M.W.) during the spinning. It was also found that the smaller size polymers in gel fiber continued to react with water in the atmosphere after the spinning, and attached to the skeleton to strengthen the fiber.