Preparation and characterization of graphene reinforced PA6 fiber

Flame Retardancy of Nylon 6 Fibers: A Review

As synthetic fibers with superior performances, nylon 6 fibers are widely used in many fields. Due to the potential fire hazard caused by flammability, the study of the flame retardancy of nylon 6 fibers has been attracting more and more attention. The review has summarized the present research status of flame-retarded nylon 6 fibers from three aspects: intrinsic flame-retarded nylon 6, nylon 6 composites, and surface strategies of nylon 6 fibers/fabrics. The current main focus is still how to balance the application performances, flame retardancy, and production cost. Moreover, melt dripping during combustion remains a key challenge for nylon 6 fibers, and the further developing trend is to study novel flame retardants and new flame-retardancy technologies for nylon 6 fibers.

Mechanical Reinforcement in Nylon 6 Nanocomposite Fiber Incorporated with Dopamine Reduced Graphene Oxide

The emergence of graphene-based polymer composite fibers provides a new opportunity to study the high-performance and functional chemical fibers. In this work, we have developed an efficient and convenient method with polydopamine (PDA) to functionalize and reduce graphene oxide (GO) simultaneously, and the modified graphene nanosheets can obtain uniform dispersion and strong interfacial bonding in nylon 6 (PA6). Furthermore, the reinforced PA6 composite fibers were prepared through mixing PDA-rGO into the PA6 polymer matrix and then melt spinning. The functional modification was characterized by surface analysis and structural testing including SEM, TEM, FTIR, and Raman. When the addition amount of the modified GO was 0.15 wt%, the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the composite fiber reached 310.4 MPa and 462.3 MPa, respectively. The results showed a meaningful reinforcement with an effect compared to the pure nylon 6 fiber. Moreover, the composite fiber also exhibited an improved crystallinity and thermal stability, as measured by DSC and TGA.

Fiber Surface/Interfacial Engineering on Wearable Electronics

Surface/interfacial engineering is an essential technique to explore the fiber materials properties and fulfil new functionalities. An extensive scope of current physical and chemical treating methods is reviewed here together with a variety of real-world applications. Moreover, a new surface/interface engineering approach is also introduced: self-assembly via π-π stacking, which has great potential for the surface modification of fiber materials due to its nondestructive working principle. A new fiber family member, metal-oxide framework (MOF) fiber shows promising candidacy for fiber based wearable electronics. The understanding of surface/interfacial engineering techniques on fiber materials is advanced here and it is expected to guide the rational design of future fiber based wearable electronics.

Characterization of Polyamide 6/Multilayer Graphene Nanoplatelet Composite Textile Filaments Obtained Via In Situ Polymerization and Melt Spinning

Studies of the production of fiber-forming polyamide 6 (PA6)/graphene composite material and melt-spun textile fibers are scarce, but research to date reveals that achieving the high dispersion state of graphene is the main challenge to nanocomposite production. Considering the significant progress made in the industrial mass production of graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs), this study explored the feasibility of production of PA6/GnPs composite fibers using the commercially available few-layer GnPs. To this aim, the GnPs were pre-dispersed in molten ε-caprolactam at concentrations equal to 1 and 2 wt %, and incorporated into the PA6 matrix by the in situ water-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactam, which was followed by melt spinning. The results showed that the incorporated GnPs did not markedly influence the melting temperature of PA6 but affected the crystallization temperature, fiber bulk structure, crystallinity, and mechanical properties. Furthermore, GnPs increased the PA6 complex viscosity, which resulted in the need to adjust the parameters of melt spinning to enable continuous filament production. Although the incorporation of GnPs did not provide a reinforcing effect of PA6 fibers and reduced fiber tensile properties, the thermal stability of the PA6 fiber increased. The increased melt viscosity and graphene anti-dripping properties postponed melt dripping in the vertical flame spread test, which consequently prolonged burning within the samples.