Diffusion dynamics of ionic liquids during the coagulation of solution spinning for acrylic fibers

The coagulation dynamics of acrylic polymer (PAN) with 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride BMIM]Cl as solvent for PAN and H₂O as nonsolvent was investigated in detail. On the basis of Fick's second law of diffusion, a mass‐transfer model of BMIM]Cl from concentrated PAN/BMIM]Cl solution was established as verified with the experimental data. The established model has a good fit with the experimental data and the diffusion coefficient D of BMIM]Cl was calculated according to the model. The diffusion coefficient D decreased a little when the concentration of solution increased. As increasing the coagulation bath concentration, the diffusion coefficient D initially increased and then decreased, reaching a maximum of 5 wt% in the coagulation bath. The diffusion coefficient D decreased with the coagulation bath temperature. From the diffusion coefficient and the structure of the coagulated filament, it can be concluded that the diffusion rate of BMIM]Cl from PAN concentrate solutions is relatively slow, which is prospective to prepare uniform‐structure fibers. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 48:184–190, 2008. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers