WETTABILITY OF MICROPOROUS POLYPROPYLENE FIBRES

Microporous polypropylene fibres by the thermally induced phase separation method were obtained. The fibres were produced in laboratory conditions by spinning of the hot mixture of polypropylene with the stearic acid. The as-spun fibres were drawn and then were treated at the room temperature in the KOH solution. After treatment the potassium soap and the rest of stearic acid were removed by rinsing. The morphology of fibres and their sorption capacity was investigated. The SEM investigations of the surface and fracture of the fibres shown that fibres reveal porous structure across the entire fibre cross-section. The pore size varies dependently on solution concentration. For the sake of the porous structure the water absorbability of fibres increases. The correlation between absorbability and fibres morphology was revealed.