Influence of Wet-spinning Conditions and Post-treatments of Fibers Based on Ultralong Carbon Nanotubes and Polyvinyl Alcohol on the Properties of Products Obtained
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The fibers and films based on non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) are widely used for fabrication of different miniature devices like chemical sensors, human motion detectors, functional elements of clothes and so on. On the other side, transport properties of polymer composite material, which underlie the functionality of such devices, depend on aspect ratio of carbon filler. The influence of wet-spinning conditions and post-treatments by high temperature zone stretching (HTZS) and thermo-stretching with plasticizer (TSP) on properties of fibers based on PVA and CNT with multimillion aspect ratio was studied. It was shown that in order to obtain continuous and uniform gel-fibers based on PVA, carbon nanotubes must be pre-functionalized with oxygen-containing groups, for example, using oxidation in a steam-air atmosphere at moderate temperatures. It was shown that both the conditions of gel-fiber formation as well as the HTZS stage affect the specific electrical conductivity of the resulting fiber. Both operations as an increase in the rate of gel fiber reception at the same feed rate of the spinning solution and the use of the high temperature zone stretching stage can result in increasing in the electrical conductivity of the fiber by more than two orders. The increase in specific electrical conductivity may be associated with the formation of additional CNT contacts during the decreasing in the diameters of gel- and HTZS-fibers, as well as with a decrease in the water content in them. It was shown that drying at room temperature leads to a slight increase in the tensile strength of gel-fibers based on PVA and CNTs, whereas HTZS at temperatures close to the melting point of the polymer matrix allows increasing the tensile strength of the fiber by more than 2 orders of magnitude. In this case, HTZS leads not only to a decrease in the fiber diameter, but also to its structural strengthening, which may be associated with an orientation effect of the supramolecular structure of PVA, with the ordering of CNTs along the fiber and the formation of new bonds, both covalent and hydrogen, as well as dispersive. Additional HTZS with using of plasticizer allows to obtain water-insoluble fibers based on PVA and CNT with tensile strength, exceeding 1600 MPa. For citation: Khaskov M.A., Karaeva A.R., Mordkovich V.Z. Influence of wet-spinning conditions and post-treatments of fibers based on ultralong carbon nanotubes and polyvinyl alcohol on the properties of products obtained. ChemChemTech [Izv. Vyssh. Uchebn. Zaved. Khim. Khim. Tekhnol.]. 2025. V. 68. N 9. P. 115-125. DOI: 10.6060/ivkkt.20256809.13y.
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4411974651