Abstract
The changes from α to γ structure of nylon 6 filaments by iodine were studied. Drawn nylon 6 filament was immersed in an iodine-potassium iodide aqueous solution and the sorbed iodine was washed out from the nylon with acetone-water, methanol-water and acetone-methanol solvents.
The crystal structure of nylon 6 changed from α to γ form. The filaments were investigated by the measurements of density, weight loss and wide and small angle Xray scattering (WAXS and SAXS) to make clear the γ form structure.
WAXS patterns showed that the crystal structure of γ nylon 6 filaments were not affected by the nature of desorption solvents, condition of water rinsing and drying. But the density and SAXS observations revealed that they caused structural variations such as micro void formation and disorientation of crystallites. When γ nylon 6 filaments were further rinsed in water, the micro voids disappeared, the density increased to a constant density, 1.134 (g/cm3), and SAXS pattern changed to distinct meridian interference patterns.
