SYNTHETIC FIBRES

Polyester
Nylon
Acrylic
Olefin (PE, PP)
Elastomeric
Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
POLYESTER

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 ABOUT POLYESTER

 Polyester means poly – esters i.e. many ester groups

 Ester is the salt formed from the reaction between an

alcohol and an acid

 Polyester is a manmade filament or fibre

 The unit block of polyester is poly-ethelene

terepthalate

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
COLOUR
 Polyester fibres/filaments are
generally white

 Coloured polyester fibres / filaments

are also manufactured by dope dyeing
during fibre spinning

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 SHAPE
 Polyester filaments or staple fibres are
fine, regular and translucent and
normally it has a circular cross section

 The cross section can be modified to

trilobal, multilobal etc.

 Both filament and staple fibres are

crimped

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Lustre

• The lustre of polyester fibre is high due to its translucent

even rodlike structure

• However, the lustre can be subdued by adding TiO2

 Specific gravity
• Specific gravity of polyester is 1.38

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Length

• For filaments it is limited to the size of the

package

• For staple fibres, it is made comparable to the

length of cotton or wool to mix them properly and
can be processed on the machineries for spinning

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Strength / Tenacity

o ` Polyester filaments and staple fibres are strong to

very strong because of their extremely crystalline polymer
system

o Wet and dry strength are same

Because polyester is completely hydro-phobic

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Elongation, Recovery and Resiliency

o Polyester has a moderate elongation and good elongation

recovery but inferior to nylon

o Polyester are stiff and hard to handle

o Resiliency of polyester fibre is excellent

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Absorbency & Moisture Regain

o Polyester filaments and fibres are hydro-phobic (MR =

0.4%)

o However, polyester is oleophilic i.e. attracts fat, grease oils

etc.

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Dimensional Stability

• Polyester does not shrink when

wet because of it’s low moisture
regain

• Polyester will shrink at

high temperature if not heat set

• Heat setting improves the

dimensional stability of polyester

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Abrasion Resistance & Pilling Propensity

• Polyester has very good abrasion resistance

• Polyester should be used where durability is a

consideration

• Polyester fibres readily form pills

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Electrical and heat conductivity

• Polyester has poor heat conductivity

• Hydrophobic polyesters readily

develop static electricity

• Attracts airborne dusts and grease

particles, leading to rapid soiling

• Soiling could be removed through

dry-cleaning only

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Effect of heat

o The melting point of polyester is close

to nylon (2500C to 2800C)

o However polyester will become sticky

and therefore pressing should be done
with warm and not hot iron

o Polyester shrinks from flame and will

melt, leaving a hard black residue

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

REACTION OF POLYESTER WITH CHEMICALS
Chemical Effect on Polyester
Substance
Acid Resistant to acid.
Extreme crystallinity prevents any entry of acid or
water

Alkali Surface hydrolysis takes place, therefore, polyester

textile material retain their whiteness during
laundering and the polyester textile material will
become finer and silkier after every laundering

Bleaching agents Polyester does not need to be bleached. Polyester

retains its whiteness during its normal laundering. If
required sodium chlorite is used as bleaching agent

Organic Solvent Polyester are not harmed by solvents

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
 Sunlight and weather resistance

• Acid resistant helps material from slightly acidic

conditions due to polluted atmosphere

• Can withstand any detrimental effect from UV

radiation

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Uses

• Apparel

• Home furnishing

• Can be used as P/C, P/W blends

 Care

• Can be laundered, shrinkage does not take

place

• Can be chlorine bleached

• Can be warm iron and should not be hot ironed

• Can be dry-cleaned
Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
 QUESTIONS

 What is the building block of polyester?

 State whether the following are True / False

Polyester is amorphous

Polyester fibre is hydrophilic in nature

Polyester is thermoplastic

Heat setting can be done in polyester

Polyester is having a good resistance to both acid and alkali

 Discuss the physical properties of polyester

 Discuss the effect of alkali on polyester

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

NYLON

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

ABOUT NYLON

 Nylon is manmade synthetic polymer, polyamide filament or

staple fibre

 The most important polyamide fibre in terms of amount produced

is Nylon 6,6

• There are two monomers each containing 6 carbon atoms,

which are required to form this type of polymer

• The polymer is also known as polyhexamethylene adipamide

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Nylon 6 is the second most important polyamide fibre

oOnly one monomer containing six carbon atoms

is required to polymerize this type of nylon

oNylon 6 is extruded from polycaprolactum

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 NYLON 6,6

n [H 2 N ( CH 2 ) 6 NH 2 ] + n[HOOC (CH 2 ) 4 COOH] [ -HN (CH 2 ) 6 NHOC

(CH 2 ) 4 C0 - ]n
Hexamethylene Adipic acid Hexamethylene
diamine diaminoadipate

NYLON 6

n [ NH 2 (CH 2 ) 5 COOH] [ -HN (CH 2 ) 5 CO - ]n

Amino Linear Caprolactum

caprolyic acid polymer

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
 Colour

• Nylon fibres / filaments are generally white

• Coloured nylon fibres / filaments are also manufactured by
dope dyeing during fibre spinning

 Shape

• Nylon is regular, translucent fine filament or staple fibre and

has a circular cross section

• Staple fibres of nylon are usually crimped

• Nylon is modified to have a trilobal cross section

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
 Lustre

• The lustre of polyester fibre is high due to its

translucent even rodlike structure

• However, the lustre can be subdued by adding TiO2

 Specific gravity

• Specific gravity of nylon is 1.14

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Strength / Tenacity

• Have a good tenacity and is due to its very crystalline

polymer system and the hydrogen bonds

• Wet tenacity is lower than dry tenacity

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Elongation, Recovery and Resiliency

• Have very good elongation and elongation

recovery

• Nylon have a very good resiliency property

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

Absorbency & Moisture Regain

o Nylon fibre is moderately hydrophilic

o Moisture regain of nylon is 4.1%

o Nylon fabrics dry quickly after laundering

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

Dimensional Stability

o Nylon has good dimensional stability

and do not shrink when wet

o Nylon will shrink at high temperature

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

Abrasion resistance

oNylon has extremely good abrasion

resistance

oIn addition nylon can be flexed

repeatedly without any wear

oNylon fabrics however have the

tendency to pill under abrasion condition

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Electrical and Heat conductivity

o Nylon has poor electrical conductivity

and builds up static electricity

o Nylon has poor heat conductivity and

poor heat resistance

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Effect of heat

Nylon is thermoplastic and excessive

heat melts nylon. The application of
even more heat will result in burning

Nylon 6,6 melts at 2600C and nylon 6

is more sensitive to heat

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
 Effect of acids
• Nylon is less resistant to acid than it is to alkalis
• The amide group in nylon polymer readily hydrolysis in
acidic condition

 Effect of alkalis
• Prolonged and frequent exposure to alkalis will cause
significant alkali hydrolysis of nylon polymers

• Yellowing of the white fibre or dulling of coloured nylon

takes place
Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
 Effect of bleaches

• Nylon is inherently white and does not require

bleaching

• On few occasions when bleaching is necessary,

oxidising bleaching agents could be used

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Effect of sunlight and weather

• Nylon has fair resistance to sunlight

 Severe weakening of nylon takes place

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 QUESTION

 What are the building units for nylon 6,6 and nylon 6?

 What is the specific density of nylon?

 Show the chemical reaction for the formation of nylon6,6 and
nylon 6 polymer

 What type of bonds are responsible for high crystalline

structure for nylon

 Describe the physical properties of nylon

 Describe the effect of acid and alkali on nylon polymers

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

ACRYLIC

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

About Acrylic

 The building block of acrylic fibres are polyacrylo-nitrile

 Acrylic fibres are divided into two types: - CH 2 – CH-

Acrylic fibres
CN
Modacrylic fibres
 In case of acrylic fibres, atleast 85% acrylonitrile units are
present by weight

 Modacrylic fibres are composed of atleast 35% but not more

than 85% by weight of acrylonitrile units

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

About Acrylic

 The remaining percentage of their respective polymer system is

a polymer (or polymers), which helps in dyeing & printing

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

- CH2- CH –CH2- CH- CH2- CH - CH2- CH - CH2- CH - CH2- CH -

C C C C C C C C
N N N N N N N N
Nitrile
group Acrylonitrile
Group

Part of Acrylic Polymer

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Physical Properties

Colour
 The cross section may be

Dog bone shaped, kidney shaped, circular

Shape
 The acrylic fibres appear as regular, translucent, slightly

wavy filaments or staple fibres

The waviness produces bulkiness to the yarns

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

Lustre
 Acrylics are usually delustered by using titanium dioxide and
the crimp further decreases the lustre

Specific gravity
 Specific gravity of acrylic fibre is 1.19

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

Strength / Tenacity

• Acrylic fibre has fair to strong tenacity

• Wet tenacity is lower than the dry tenacity

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

Elasticity and Resiliency

• Acrylic has good resiliency and elasticity

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Absorbency and Moisture regain

• Acrylic fibres are hydrophobic (MR = 1.5%)

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Thermal Properties

Most heat sensitive among the synthetic fibre

Near a naked flame, acrylic fibres tend to ignite

immediately, rather than melt

 It is the most flammable synthetic fibres in

common use

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

 Effect of Acid

Resistant to acids

 Effect on Alkali

Crystalline nature of the polymer prevents the ready

entry of alkaline substances

However, surface hydrolysis will occur

 This will eventually lead to surface discolouration

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
 Effect of Bleaches

Acrylic fibres are not bleached in practice

 Effect of sunlight & atmosphere

Atmosphere is slightly acidic & hence acrylic is resistant to it

When exposed to sunlight, initially there will be a small loss in

tenacity.

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 QUESTIONS

 What is the building block of acrylic fibres?

 What are the different types of acrylic fibres? How could you

define them?

 Describe the effect of acid and alkali on acrylic fibres

 Describe the physical properties of acrylic fibre.

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

OLEFIN FIBRES

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 ABOUT OLEFIN FIBRES
 These are man-made fibres

Example: Polyethylene, polypropylene

 Building units are ethylene and propylene respectively

 Polypropylene is used far more extensively for textiles

 Polypropylene constitutes the larger quantity of olefin

fibres in use today

 Have circular cross – section

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
 PROPERTIES
 Specific gravity

The specific gravity of polypropylene is low (0.92)

Polypropylene will float on water

 Strength

Polypropylene olefin is strong

Abrasion resistance is good

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
 Elasticity and resilience

• The elastic property of polypropylene olefin fibre is

excellent

• The resilience of the fibre is good

 Absorbency

• Almost completely non-absorbent and difficult to dye

• Grease and oil will stain polypropylene fabrics

• Olefin fibre has good wick ability

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
 Dimensional stability

• The dimensional stability is good

• However, at elevated temperature the, fabric will

shrink

 Electrical conductivity

• The electrical conductivity is poor

• Its low absorbency contributes to problems of static

electricity build up
Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
 Effect of heat
• Polypropylene is combustible and melt as they burn

 Chemical Reactivity
• Resistance to acid and base is good

• Organic solvents however, will affect the fabric

adversely; dry-cleaning should be avoided

 Resistance to Environmental Conditions

• Mildew and insects do not attack olefins

• Sunlight does gradually deteriorate the fabric

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
PROPERTIES OF REGULAR POLYPROPYLENE FIBRES

PROPERTIES VALUE
Specific gravity 0.92
Tenacity (gms / denier)
- Dry 2.5 – 5.5
- Wet 2.5 – 5.5
Moisture Regain None
Resiliency Good
Burning & melting Burns with melting; continues
burning after the flame is removed
Conductivity
--Heat Low
--Electricity Low
-Resistance to damage from
-- Fungi & insects Excellent
-- Acids & Bases Excellent
-- Prolonged exposure to sunlight Slowly losses strength
Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
USES
 Carpets

• Indoor carpet

• Out carpet

 Upholstery

 Blankets and wall coverings

 Non – wovens

 Rope

 Nets

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

POLYETHYLENE

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 POLYETHYLENE FIBRES

 This is a manmade fibre with the unit block polyethylene

 Polypropylene shares many quality in common with

polypropylene

 Have lower melting point w.r.t polypropylene

 Have specific gravity of 0.90

 High strength polethylene is developed – known as Spectra

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Spectra has high strength and is less brittle

 They resist moisture, chemicals and UV ray

 They are also light weight

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 USES
 Rope

 Cut resistant clothing

 Gloves

 Body shields

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

ELASTOMERIC FIBRES

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 ELASTOMERIC FIBRES - SPANDEX
 Fibre made of a natural or synthetic polymer which at room
temperature can be stretched repeatedly to at least twice its
original length and which after removal of the tensile load will
come back to its original length

 Example

Rubber (natural fibre)

Spandex (man-made fibre)

 Ex: LYCRA (Trade name)

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 Disadvantage of rubber

Difficult to dye

Has poor abrasion resistance

Deteriorated by sun light

Poor chemical resistance

Scientists have developed man-made elastomeric fibres

to overcome the difficulties rubber has

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

ABOUT SPANDEX

 The unit block of spandex is polyurethane

 In cross section some are round, some are shaped like pea
nut shell and some are having dog bone shape

 Also known as LYCRA which is the Trade name of Spandex

Manufactured by DU PONT

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 PROPERTIES OF SPANDEX
 Specific gravity

Spandex have moderate specific gravity of 1.0 to 1.2

 Strength

Spandex is relatively weak

It is about twice the strength of rubber

 Elasticity and Resilience

Has an excellent ability to stretch and recover

It can stretch about 500 – 600 % without breaking

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal
 Absorbency and Moisture Regain

The moisture regain of spandex fibre is low ( < 1.0%)

 Effect of Heat

Spandex fibre will burn

It will melt at around 2300 C

These fibres sticks at around 1700 C

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 CHEMICAL REACTIVITY

Resistance to chemicals is generally good

Chlorine compounds in strong concentrations will cause

the fibre to degraded and yellowing

But, spandex will withstand the concentration chlorine

present in swimming pools

Perspiration and seawater have no impact on the

spandex fibre

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 CARE PROCEDURE
 Since spandex fibres are used in conjunction to other
fibres, care should be taken not only for the spandex but
also for the other fibres

 Ironing temperature should not exceed 1500 C

 Dryer temperature should be moderate

 Chlorine bleaching should be avoided

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal

 USES
 Spandex fibres are always used in conjunction to the
other fibres

Could be used as ‘core spun yarn’

 Spandex core yarns are woven or knitted into variety of

garments in which stretch is desirable

Lingerie

Active wear in sports ( swimming, skiing, golf & tennis)

Dr. Prithwiraj Mal