Structural changes of polyethylene terephthalate fibers grafted by acrylamide

A group of grafted PET fibers with different graft yield are formed by grafting acrylamide onto the PET main chains. The structure of grafted fibers are studied by scanning electronic microscope (SEM), infra-red spectrophotometer (IR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). At the same time, the moisture regain, dyeability, strength, and elongation at break of the samples are measured and their relations with structural changes are discussed. Compared with ungrafted fiber, shape of the fiber cross-section, IR characteristic absorption peaks, and melting behavior of the grafted fibers have been changed, causing the fiber dyeability and moisture regain to be increased, and mechanical properties to be changed.