Flash spinning of poly (ethylene terephthalate)/ polyethylene blend

Abstract

Poly (ethylene terephthalate) [PET]/ polyethylene [PE] blend polymer solution using methylene chloride as solvent was flash-spun into fibers. The tensile strength as well as the initial modulus and the maximum point modulus in the differential modulus-stress curves decreased with the increase in content of PET. The wide-angle X-ray diffraction photographs revealed that PE crystallized, although PET showed hollow pattern. These result suggest that PET component moves to the dilute phase of PE when phase separation occurred in the course of spinning, then the fibers are formed independently with respect to each component during the flash spinning. PET may not be able to crystallize due to low temperature during the flash spinning, while PE can be flash-spun into fibers with crystallization.