Production of sulfonated polyetheretherketone/polypropylene fibers for photoactive textiles |
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| Authors: | Ville Mylläri Enrico Fatarella Marco Ruzzante Rebecca Pogni Maria Camilla Baratto Mikael Skrifvars Seppo Syrjälä Pentti Järvelä |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Tampere University of Technology, Department of Material Science, Tampere, Finland;2. Next Technology Tecnotessile Società Nazionale di Ricerca s.r.l., Prato, Italy;3. Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Siena, Italy;4. Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Bor?s, Bor?s, Sweden;5. Tampere University of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Systems, Tampere, Finland |
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| Abstract: | New photocatalytic fibers made of sulfonated polyetheretherketone (SPEEK)/polypropylene (PP) are melt compounded and melt spun, first on laboratory scale and then on a semi‐industrial scale. Fiber spinnability is optimized and the fibers are characterized using mechanical testing, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). According to the results, the fiber spinnability remains at a good level up to 10 wt % SPEEK concentration. Optimal processing temperature is 200°C due to the thermal degradation at higher temperatures. EPR measurements show good and long‐lasting photoactivity after the initial irradiation but also decay in the radical intensity during several irradiation cycles. Mechanical tenacity of the SPEEK/PP 5:95 fiber is approximately 20% lower than for otherwise similar PP fiber. The fiber is a potential alternative to compete against TiO2‐based products but more research needs to be done to verify the real‐life performance. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42595. |
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| Keywords: | blends fibers functionalization of polymers photochemistry textiles |
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