Preparation and properties of anti-static PET/ATO hybrid fiber

The anti-static poly(ethylene terephthalate)/antimony doped tin oxide (PET/ATO) nanocomposites were prepared by in-situ polymerization. The experimental result of nanocomposites confirms that ATO nanoparticles are well dispersed in PET matrix, and the size of agglomeration is 100 nm~150 nm. Adding ATO nanoparticles does not change the type of PET flow curve. With increasing the content of ATO nanoparticles, melt viscosities of nanocomposites increased first and then decrease at the same shear frequency. Adding the ATO nanoparticles improves the thermal stability of nanocomposites, which is beneficial to melt spinning. PET/ATO nanocomposites were spun into fiber by the melt-spinning process. The PET/ATO hybrid fiber exhibits volume resistivity of 4.9×108 Ω·cm when the content of ATO is 1.0%. The percolation threshold of PET/ATO hybrid fibers at room temperature is as low as 1.05%, much lower than that of the composites filled with conventional conductive particles.