Title: Effect of salt removal and heat-pressing treatments on mechanical properties of electrospun meta-aramid nanofibres

Authors: Su-Yeol Ryu; Seung-Yeop Kwak; Myung-Kyu Park

Addresses: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 151-744, South Korea ' Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 151-744, South Korea ' Research Division for NBC Protective Technology, Agency for Defense Development, Bugyuseong daero 488 beon gil, Yoseong, Daejeon, 305-152, South Korea

Abstract: Compared with commercial meta-aramid fibres, the electrospun meta-aramid nanofibres (mANFs) show insufficient mechanical properties because the polymer chains are not possible to have a well-developed molecular orientation. The aligned mANFs with LiCl salt was prepared using electrospinning apparatus with drum-collector, and the nanofibres with enhanced mechanical properties were obtained by repetitive washing and fast heat-pressing treatment. The salt remaining between meta-aramid chains interrupted the arrangement of the chains, whereas salt-removed nanofibre showed arrangeability of polymer segments. The fast heat-pressing induced effective adhesion between nanofibres, and the mechanical properties of heat-pressed nanofibres increased dramatically along the nanofibre-aligned direction. These results indicate that removal of salt in nanofibres and a physical adhesion between adjacent nanofibre strands contribute to the enhancement of mechanical properties of mANFs.

Keywords: meta-aramid nanofibres; electrospinning; mechanical properties; nanotechnology; salt removal; heat-pressing treatment; adhesion.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2016.077092

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2016 Vol.13 No.4/5/6, pp.426 - 437

Published online: 20 Jun 2016 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article