Multiscale characterisation of single synthetic fibres: Surface morphology and nanomechanical properties

JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE

卷:571

Article

Gubala, Dajana¹  Harniman, Robert¹  Eloi, Jean-Charles¹  Wasik, Patryk^1,2,7  Wermeille, Didier^3,4  Sun, Lili⁵  Robles, Eric⁶  Chen, Meng⁵  Briscoe, Wuge H.¹ 

[1] Univ Bristol, Sch Chem, Bristol BS8 1TS, Avon, England

[2] Univ Bristol, Bristol Ctr Funct Nanomat, HH Wills Phys Lab, Bristol BS8 1TL, Avon, England

[3] European Synchrotron Radiat Facil, UK CRG, XMaS, 71 Ave Martyrs,BP 220, F-38043 Grenoble 9, France

[4] Univ Liverpool, Dept Phys, Oliver Lodge Lab, Liverpool L69 7ZE, Merseyside, England

[5] Procter & Gamble Beijing Innovat Ctr, 35 Yuan Rd, Beijing 101312, Peoples R China

[6] Household Care Analyt Procter & Gamble Newcastle, Whitley Rd, Newcastle NE12 9TS, England

[7] Brookhaven Natl Lab, Natl Synchrotron Light Source 2, Upton, NY 11973 USA

关键词: Polymer fibres;    Nonwovens;    Softness;    Surface characterisation;    Erucamide;    Single fibres;    Blooming process;    Fibre crimping;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jcis.2020.03.051

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Hypothesis: Thermal through-air bonding process and slip additive treatment affect fibre surface structure and nanomechanical properties, which is extremely difficult to characterise on a single-fibre level. Experiments: Optical microscopy (OM) was applied to study the effect of air-through bonding, spunbonding, and crimping on fibre geometry and general appearance. A spray-on method developed here using a custom-designed fibre holder allowed a direct measurement of static contact angles of water droplets on single fibres. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed different morphological features on the fibre due to the nonwoven fabric-making process and additive treatment. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) was applied to study the effect of erucamide presence on polypropylene (PP) fibre crystal structure. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging provided complementary characterization of fibre topographic features such as average surface roughness, along with adhesion force mapping by quantitative nanomechanical (QNM) AFM imaging. Findings: Our results show the effect of nonwoven making process and surfactant additive treatment on the fibre surface structure and nanomechanical properties. Wettability experiment on the single fibre revealed the hydrophobic nature of all the synthetic fibres. For polyethylene/polyethylene terephthalate (PE/PET) bicomponent single fibres, the polyethylene sheath was found to possess fibrillar microstructure - typical for drawn fibres, whereas the fibres entangled in nonwoven fabrics exhibited a uniform, porous surface morphology attributed to the through-air process. Adhesion force mapping allowed us to correlate fibre nanomechanical properties with its topography, with surface pore interiors showing higher adhesion than the flat polyethylene region. Furthermore, on the polypropylene (PP) fibre surface treated with erucamide (13-cis-docosenamide; a common slip additive used in polyolefin film processing), we observed overlapping multilayers consisting of 4 nm erucamide bilayers, attributed to the slip additive migration onto the fibre surface. XRD measurements of the fibres did not detect the presence of erucamide; however, AFM imaging provided evidence for its migration to the fibre surface, imparting influence on the surface structure and adhesive properties of the fibre. Single-fibre AFM imaging also allowed a detailed analysis of different surface roughness parameters, revealing that both through-air bonding in the nonwoven making process and the slip additive (erucamide) treatment affected the fibre surface roughness. The wettability, surface morphology, and adhesion properties from this study, obtained with unprecedented resolution and details on single fibres, are valuable to informing rational design of fibre processing for fibre optimal properties, critically important in many industrial applications. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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