CELLULOSE-BASED FIBERS FROM LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE SOLUTIONS .2. PROCESSING AND MORPHOLOGY OF ACETATE BUTYRATE ESTERS

Fibers were spun from isotropic and anisotropic dimethylacetamide solutions of cellulose esters. Take-up speeds of the dry jet/wet spinning process varied. Water served as the coagulant. The mechanical properties of the fibers increased as spinning progressed from the isotropic to the anisotropic state of the solution. A trade-off in solubility and fiber properties was noted as the butyryl acetyl ratio decreased. Whereas high butyryl content enhances both overall solubility and the formation of liquid-crystalline solutions at lower concentration, it results in lower fiber modulus and strength. Morphology of the fibers depended on the coagulation rate which was influenced by the concentration of the spinning solution. The level of orientation and crystallinity of the fibers increased somewhat when they were spun from liquid-crystalline solutions. (C) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.