Textile fibers fiber-forming polymers

Synthetic fibers are generally made from polymers whose chemical composition and geometry enhance intermolecular attractive forces and crystallization. A certain degree of moisture affinity is also desirable for wearer comfort in textile applications. The same chemical species can be used as a plastic, without fiber-like axial orientation. Thus most fiber forming polymers can also be used as plastics, with adjustment of molecular size if necessary to optimize properties for particular fabrication conditions and end u.ses. Not all plastics can form practical fibers, however, because the intermolecular forces or... 

Textile fibers consist of polymers. Polymers are long chain molecules which are formed by chemically joining the monomers and the process is known as polymerisation. The length of the chain is represented by degree of polymerisation (DP). If a polymer is formed from two or more monomers, it is called copolymer. To improve the properties of the fibre sometimes additional monomer is grafted on to the polymer chain. 

Textile products are also finally bleached and then dyed. Physical and/or chemical processes participate in dying processes and discussion of these is more a domain for textile chemistry. Here, the dyeability of synthetic fibers can be increased by polymerizing in small quantities of certain comonomers which have a better affinity to the dyestuffs than the monomeric units of the actual fiber forming polymer. For example, certain acidic comonomers I and II in PET and PA for basic dyestuffs, basic comonomer III in PET and PA for acidic dyestuffs, acidic comonomers IV-VI in PAN for basic dyestuffs, and basic comonomers VII-IX in PAN for acidic dyestuffs ... 

Polypropylene (PP) fibers contain, according to ISO 2076, minimally an 85% portion of macromolecular polypropylene chains and maximally 15% of another fiber-forming polymer, the content of nonfiber-forming substance being unlimited. Of the stereoregular isomers, only isotactic PP is used for fiber preparation. Nowadays, new types of PP (s)mdio-tactic, metallocene based) have been developed for fiber and film production. The first industrial company that launched the production of PP fibers was Montecatini Co. (1959), then after 1960 l.C.l., Celanese, Hercules, etc. Japanese companies started the production of bicomponent fibers. Ciurently, the global production amounts to 4200 kt of PP fibers in wide assortment of textile, industrial and special typ>es. Table 1 presents a survey of the world production of PP fibers in 1992-1995. 

Keywords bulk continuous fibers (BCF), crystallinity, drawing, elasticity, elongation, fiber-forming polymer, fiber monofilament, low oriented yam (LOY), melt blown process, melting, monofilament, multifilament silk, orientation, partially oriented yam (POY), staple fibers, spinning, spunbonded fibers, stmcture, technical fiber, tenacity, textile fiber, texturing. 

Aliphatic polyanhydrides were developed in 1932 as a fiber-forming polymer for textile applications. However, the hydrolytic instability of the polymer limited its use as a textile fiber. More recently, the surface erosion phenomenon of the polymer responsible for its hydrolytic instability has made it attractive as a... 

Microfibers are fibers that are less than one denier per filament—100 times finer than a human hair. Textiles produced with microfiber yams are softer and possess better drape than conventional products. Microfibers can be made from polyester, polyamide, polypropylene, and many other fiber-forming polymers. These fibers can be made into fabrics with dimensionally stable, lightweight, waterproof, and easy-care characteristics. 

With the exception of glass fiber, asbestos (qv), and the specialty metallic and ceramic fibers, textile fibers are a class of soHd organic polymers distinguishable from other polymers by their physical properties and characteristic geometric dimensions (see Glass Refractory fibers). The physical properties of textile fibers, and indeed of all materials, are a reflection of molecular stmcture and intermolecular organization. The abiUty of certain polymers to form fibers can be traced to several stmctural features at different levels of organization rather than to any one particular molecular property. 

The Textile Eiber Product Identification Act (TEPIA) requires that the fiber content of textile articles be labeled (16). The Eederal Trade Commission estabhshed and periodically refines the generic fiber definitions. The current definition for a polyester fiber is "A manufactured fiber ia which the fiber-forming substance is any long-chain synthetic polymer composed of at least 85% by weight of an ester of a substituted aromatic carboxyUc acid, including but not restricted to terephthalate units, and para substituted hydroxyben2oate units."... 

Fibers are made from thermoplastic polymers. The polymers are made into fiber form, normally by extrusion of molten polymer or a polymer solution through tiny holes. The resulting fiber is stretched to orient the molecules. This orientation of the molecules lines up the polymer molecules and produces the strength and other properties needed in a textile yam. 

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