Polymers, fibre forming

This family includes a range of polyacrylates (III), polymethacrylates (IV) and the important fibre-forming polymer, polyacrylonitrile (V). 

Since large tonnage production is desirable in order to minimise the cost of a polyamide and since the consumption of nylons as plastics materials remains rather small, it is important that any new materials introduced should also have a large outlet as a fibre. There are a number of polyamides in addition to those already mentioned that could well be very useful plastics materials but which would be uneconomical for all but a few applications if they were dependent on a limited outlet in the sphere of plastics. Both nylon 7 and nylon 9 are such examples but their availability as plastics is likely to occur only if they become established fibre-forming polymers. This in turn will depend on the economics of the telomerisation process and the ability to find outlets for the telomers produced other than those required for making the polyamides. 

Carothers also produced a number of aliphatic linear polyesters but these did not fulfil his requirements for a fibre-forming polymer which were eventually met by the polyamide, nylon 66. As a consequence the polyesters were discarded by Carothers. However, in 1941 Whinfield and Dickson working at the Calico Printers Association in England announced the discovery of a fibre from poly(ethylene terephthalate). Prompted by the success of such a polymer, Farbenfabriken Bayer initiated a programme in search of other useful polymers containing aromatic rings in the main chain. Carbonic acid derivatives were reacted with many dihydroxy compounds and one of these, bis-phenol A, produced a polymer of immediate promise. 

As previously mentioned the initial research on polyurethanes was directed towards the preparation of fibre-forming polymers. Many poly hydroxy compounds and many di-isocyanates were used and the melting points of some of the more linear aliphatic polyurethanes produced cU"e given in Table 27.1. 

Chemical Modifications of Fibre Forming Polymers and Copolymers of Acrylonitrile... 

Rogovin, Z. A. and Gabrielyan, G. A. Chemical Modifications of Fibre Forming Polymers and Copolymers of Acrylonitrile. Vol. 25, pp. 97-134. 

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