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High-performance co-polyimide (co-PI) fibers derived from 3,3'4,4'-biphenyldianhydride (BPDA), p-phenylenediamine (p-PDA) and 2-(4-aminophenyl)-5-amino-benzimidazole (BIA) were prepared via the wet spinning and dry-jet wet spinning method, respectively. The distinctions between wet spinning and dry-jet wet spinning processes on the structures and properties of co-PI fibers were systematically investigated. The co-PI fibers prepared by dry-jet wet spinning exhibited smoother surface morphology and higher mechanical properties than those of co-PI prepared by wet spinning. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) results showed that the co-PI fibers prepared by dry-jet wet spinning exhibited highly oriented structure along the fiber direction along with a low degree of lateral packing order in the transverse direction. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) revealed that the radius, length, misorientation and internal surface roughness of the microvoids in the co-PI fibers prepared by the dry-jet wet spinning are lower than those in co-PI fibers prepared by wet spinning. Moreover, the effect of air layer height, as well as the heat treatment on the structure and properties of fibers during the dry-jet wet spinning process, was also studied. The tensile strength and modulus of co-PI fibers prepared by dry-jet wet spinning reached 2.72 GPa and 114.29 GPa, respectively, with an air layer height of 10 mm and a heat stretching temperature of 440°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to overcome the shortcomings of nanofiber membranes such as low mechanical properties and poor acid resistance, amino‐rich functionalized polyimide (PI)‐polyethyleneimine (PEI) fibers were successfully prepared in the study. The structure and morphology in each functionalization step were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), static contact angle, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐FTIR), and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. The adsorption kinetics analysis showed that the adsorption process followed a pseudo‐second‐order model, and the adsorption isotherm could be described better by the Langmuir model indicating the adsorption process was mainly chemical and homogeneous monolayer adsorption. Furthermore, the maximum adsorption capacity based on the Langmuir model was about 50 mg g−1, and the calculated thermodynamic parameters demonstrated an endothermic process. Meantime, the PEI‐grafted PI fibers also exhibited good regeneration performance and stable tensile strength during recycling tests process. In the first 3 adsorption–desorption cycles, the removal efficiency and tensile strength of PI‐PEI fibers could be maintained up to 60.44% and 89.29% of the initial adsorption, respectively. This work achieved the function of removing Cr (VI) by combining the excellent high temperature resistance, acid resistance, and mechanical properties of PI fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The weak interface adhesion between high‐strength‐high‐modulus polyimide (PI) fibers and epoxy (EP) resin matrix has seriously hampered the application of PI/EP composites. Herein, a waterborne polyamide (WPA) sizing agent was used to modify PI fibers to enhance the interface adhesion strength between the PI fibers and EP resin matrix. The surface characteristics of PI fibers were investigated to determine chemical composition, morphology, roughness, wettability, interfacial shear strength (IFSS) and interlinear shear strength. The results indicated that the WPA sizing agent significantly enhanced the interface adhesion properties between the PI fibers and EP resin matrix with a 132% and 22.35% increment obtained for IFSS and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) compared with unsized PI/EP composites. Then, the hybrid sizing agent generated by WPA and waterborne EP sizing agent exhibited the highest interface adhesion with 168.65% and 28.62% increment obtained for IFSS and ILSS compared with unsized PI/EP composites. Based on these results, a sizing mechanism with chemical interaction and mechanical interlocking was proposed, which provides an effective and feasible method to enhance the interface adhesion between the PI fibers and EP resin matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the interface adhesion between high‐strength‐high‐modulus polyimide (PI) fibers and epoxy resin (EP) matrix, waterborne epoxy resin (WEP) sizing agents are used to modify the surface of PI fibers. The sizing treatment of PI fibers was carried out by the self‐made sizing machine, and the effect of WEP sizing concentrations on the structure and properties of PI fibers were discussed in detail. The surface roughness, activated carbon percentage, and surface energy of WEP‐sized PI fibers increased with increasing WEP sizing agent contents. While, the mechanical and thermal properties of WEP‐sized PI fibers decreased slightly with the increment of WEP sizing agent concentrations. The optimum WEP sizing concentration was recognized to be 2 wt%. The interfacial shear strength and the interlinear shear strength values of PI fibers and epoxy resin (PI/EP) composites were improved by 175.22 and 25.31%, respectively. Moreover, the mechanism of surface characteristic improvement with WEP sizing treatment were proposed, contributing to the enhancement of mechanical interlocking and chemical interaction between fibers and matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work we prepared co‐polyimide (PI) fibers with excellent mechanical and dielectric properties by the wet‐spinning method. The co‐PI fiber exhibited high mechanical property with a tensile strength of 2.61 GPa and modulus of 86.7 Gpa as well as a low dielectric constant and a dielectric loss factor of 2.7463 and 0.00793 at 10 GHz, respectively. The relationship between the properties and the microstructure of co‐PI fibers after heat‐drawing was investigated. The results revealed that the hydrogen‐bond associations and the microvoids structure were highly affected by imidization conditions. Both the formations of the hydrogen‐bond associations and the evolution of microvoids were attributed to the change in tensile strength. Furthermore, the fibers prepared at proper conditions possessed fewer surface defects as well as homogeneous inner structure. Our work demonstrates the structure–property relationship in annealed PI fibers, which may provides a new avenue to access high‐performance PI fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of this paper is to interpret the self-polymerization mechanism of dopamine by molecular simulation and use dopamine polymerization to modify the surface properties of polyimide fibers for improving its interfacial adhesion strength with the epoxy resin matrix. Theoretically, the molecular simulation results of calculated energy band gaps and infrared spectrum of the intermediate products generated in the dopamine self-polymerization process confirmed that the spontaneity of self-polymerization of dopamine and the occurrence of intramolecular cyclization and intermolecular polymerization in the self-polymerization process of dopamine. Moreover, the interaction between polyimide and poly(dopamine) was simulated, and the calculated results showed that the interaction between them depended on hydrogen bonding and was verified by ultrasound treatment. Experimentally, the effect of dopamine treatment concentration on the surface properties of polyimide fibers was investigated. Obviously, after a relatively high dopamine concentration treatment, the surface roughness and surface energy of polyimide fibers were largely improved and the number of active groups on polyimide fibers surface were increased, which were altogether conducive to enhance the adhesion strength of polyimide fibers with the epoxy resin matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyimide/graphene (PI/G) composite fibers containing p -phenylenediamine (p -PDA), 3,3′,4,4′-Biphenyl tetracarboxylic diandhydride (BPDA) and graphene (G) were prepared by wet spinning and thermal imidization. The mechanical properties, thermal stability, orientation factor and morphology of PI/G composite fibers were characterized and studied. Within the scope of the study, the tensile strength and tensile modulus of the fibers increased first and then decreased with the increase of the graphene content. Moreover, the glass transition temperature and thermal decomposition temperature of the PI/G composite fibers increased with the increased of the graphene content. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the degree of orientation of the of prepared fibers increase firstly and then decrease with the content of graphene increasing. SEM indicated that graphene was dispersed evenly in the PI/G composite fibers and graphene had satisfactory compatibility with PI matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tensile properties of polyimide (PI) filament tows were measured under quasi-static state and at high strain rates with a universal tensile testing machine and a split Hopkinson tension bar, respectively. Experimental results showed that mechanical behaviors of the tows were rather sensitive to strain rate, with failure stress and modulus increasing distinctly but the elongation at break declining as the strain rate increased. Besides, the PI filament tows exhibited a higher growth rate of fracture stress than para-aramid fiber and aramid III fiber did, and scanning electronic microscopy observation on the fracture surface indicated a ductile fracture mode. With the increase of strain rate, the axial splitting of fiber intensified. Further, strength distributions of the PI filament tows were evaluated by a single Weibull distribution function, and the curve predicted was in good accordance with the experimental data obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, the first example of ultrahigh‐strength polybenzimidazole (PBI) fibers using a PBI solution in liquid crystal state is reported via a novel and green integrated spinning technology. Microwave‐assisted polycondensation is utilized to synthesize the polybenzimidazole/polyphosphoric acid liquid crystal spinning solution and pure water is employed as the coagulating and washing bath to afford a green fabrication process. The green integrated spinning technology is eco‐friendly, cheap, and conducive for the large‐scale production of PBI fibers. The as‐prepared PBI fibers display superb flame retardancy, and the outstanding thermal stability of PBI fiber enables it to preserve structural integrity at temperatures as high as 600 °C. More significantly, it prepared the ultrahigh‐strength of PBI fiber up to 0.91 GPa, which is two times than that of the reported PBI fibers, marking a significant breakthrough for the high‐performance PBI fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of copolyimide (co-PI) fibers containing trifluoromethyl units were successfully obtained on the molecular design of 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride, p- phenylenediamine, and 2,2-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]hexafluoropropane (HFBAPP) via a widely utilized two-step wet-spinning method. Significant variations on the microstructures and properties of the resulting co-PI fibers were observed after the incorporation of HFBAPP moieties. The tensile strength and initial modulus of the fibers decreased from 0.70 GPa to 0.38 GPa and from 69.63 GPa to 9.60 GPa, respectively. However, the dielectric permittivity decreased from 3.62 to 2.85 in the frequency of 10 MHz as a result of the incorporation of trifluoromethyl units. Two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray diffraction showed that the fibers exhibited highly oriented molecular alignments along the fiber direction and low lateral packing degree in the transverse direction. In addition, the co-PI fibers possessed excellent thermal–oxidative stabilities with the 5% weight loss temperature ranging from 532°C to 552°C under nitrogen atmosphere and the glass transition temperature ranging from 312°C to 330°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: We modified polyimide (PI) fibers by a novel hydrolysis approach and fabricated PI‐fiber‐reinforced novolac resin (NR) composites with enhanced mechanical properties. We first used an alkaline–solvent mixture containing potassium hydroxide liquor and dimethylacetamide (DMAc) for the surface modification of the PI fibers. The results indicate that the surface roughness and structure of the PI fibers were controlled by the hydrolysis time and the content of DMAc. With the optimized hydrolysis conditions, the tensile modulus of modified PI fibers improved 15% without compromises in the fracture stress, fracture strain, or thermal stability. The interfacial shear strength between the modified PI fibers and NR increased 57%; this indicated a highly enhanced interfacial adhesion. Finally, the tensile and flexural strengths of the composites increased 72 and 53%, respectively. This research provides an effective method for the surface modification of PI fibers and expands their applications for high‐performance composites. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46595. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-performance aromatic co-polyimide (co-PI) fiber was prepared by thermal treating the polyamic acid (PAA) precursor fiber produced through a wet spinning technique. A gradient thermal treatment protocol, which was selected based on the thermogravimetric analysis of PAA fibers, was employed for achieving the best structure and fiber performance. The structural and morphological variations of fibers at different thermal treatment stages were verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, sonic orientation detection, wide-angle X-ray diffraction and scanning electronic morphology. Thermal treatment cycloimidizes the PAA precursor into PI fibers with the concomitant development of a laminar orientation structure expanded from outer to inner layers of the fiber. The ordered chain repeat length is calculated to be 1.62 nm in the meridian direction. Mechanical measurements indicate that the synthesized co-PI fiber achieves optimum fracture strength and initial modulus up to 3.56 and 101 GPa, respectively. Thermal characterization results indicate a 5% weight loss temperature under nitrogen up to 591 °C and a glass transition temperature at 340 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of copolyimide (co-PI) fibers with low dielectric constants and excellent comprehensive properties have been successfully prepared via a two-step wet-spinning method by incorporating 2,2′-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4,4′-diaminobiphenyl (TFMB) into rigid polymer backbones of 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA)/ p -phenylenediamine (p -PDA). The dielectric constant of PI fibers were substantially reduced from 3.0 to 2.48 at the frequency of 10 GHz after the introduction of trifluoromethyl (-CF 3) groups. Meanwhile, the prepared PI fibers exhibited high thermal stability as well as excellent mechanical properties. The co-PI fibers possessed the optimum tensile strength of 1.4 GPa and modulus of 83.3 GPa at the p -PDA/TFMB molar ratio of 7/3. The 5% weight loss temperature in nitrogen ranged from 523 to 558 °C, and the glass transition temperature decreased from 372 °C to 295 °C with increasing TFMB contents. Both experimental and molecular simulations method were adopted to discuss the influence of fluorine group on the aggregation structure and properties of PI fibers, suggesting that the improved free volume were the crucial factor responsible for low dielectric constant. The molecular ordered degree and orientation degree of co-PI fibers decreased firstly and further increased with increasing TMFB content, which is due to the combined effects of large free volume of trifluoromethyl and polymer regularity variation caused by copolymerization. • A series of co-PI fibers with excellent comprehensive properties have been successfully prepared. • The dielectric constant of PI fibers were reduced from 3.0 to 2.48 at 10 GHz after the introduction of -CF 3 groups. • Structure-property relationship of the PI fibers was established through molecular simulations and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scalable and precisely controllable in‐fiber fabrication method, described by Lei Wei and co‐workers in article number 1703245, produces uniformly‐sized, high‐quality, and globally ordered spherical particles in a full spectrum of diameters from micro‐ to nano‐scale. Harnessing a fluid instability phenomenon in fiber drawing achieves spherical particles from a variety of materials with disparate optical, electronic, and thermoelectric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]