Acrylic fibers sunlight resistance

Acrylic fibers are characterized by having properties similar to wool and have replaced wool in many markets such as blankets, carpets, and sweaters. Important properties of acrylics are resistance to solvents and sunlight, resistance to creasing, and quick drying. 

So it is difficult to draw comparisons between the performance of fibers on sunlight exposure. Available publications containing data obtained with undyed materials show that acrylic fibers consistently have excellent resistance to photodegradation whether exposed to direct sunlight or to sunlight behind glass (13, 18, 28, 29, 30). The comparative... 

Acrylic fibers are formed from wet or dry spinning of copolymers containing at least 85% acrylonitrile units. After texturizing, acrylic fibers have a light bulky wool-like hand and overal wool-like aesthetics. The fibers are resilient and possess excellent acid resistance and sunlight resistance. Acryl ics have been used extensively in appl ications formerly reserved for wool or other keratin fibers. 

Nytril fibers are made up of polymers containing at least 85% vinyli-dene dinitrile units, which appear at least every other unit in the polymer chain. The comonomer used in Nytril synthesis is vinyl acetate. The two monomers are polymerized in benzene using peroxide catalyst. The polymer is precipitated, washed, and dissolved in ], ] -dimethyl formamide and then passed through a spinneret into an aqueous coagulating bath to form Nytril fibers. The properties of the Nytril fiber are similar to the other acrylic fibers. The fiber possesses moderate tensile, regain, and thermal properties. The fiber is chemical and sunlight resistant but is as flammable as cellulosic fibers. Darvan Nytril fibers were produced in the U.S. until 1961. 

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