A comparative study of characteristics of polytetrafluoroethylene fibers manufactured by various processes

Abstract

A series of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fibers were manufactured by three processing methods including extrusion process, split‐sheet process and split‐film process. The influence of processing methods on fiber properties were systematically studied using four PTFE powders with various molecular weights (3.86 × 107, 4.71 × 107, 4.92 × 107 and 5.11 × 107, respectively). Morphology, crystallinity, tensile behavior and friction properties of PTFE fibers were compared by scanning electron micrograph, X‐ray diffraction pattern, strength‐elongation curves and friction coefficients, respectively. The results showed that the in terms of flat filaments, mechanical properties became weak with the increase of molecular weight of PTFE powders at first, but were improved dramatically with further enhancement of molecular weight. In the case of both round filaments and split‐film fibers, fiber properties were improved with growth of molecular weight. Based on characteristics and friction coefficients, potential applications of three types of PTFE samples were analyzed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43553.

Investigation on the properties of gamma irradiated of polytetrafluoroethylene fibers

“…The SEM micrographs indicate that the outer surface of pristine fibers is very smooth without any particle clumps, very clear, and there are no obvious defects or groove. This is because, while manufacturing the fibers and during the extrusion process, the stretching out of molecular chains in raw powders from the crystalline area and formed fine fibrils (Xu et al, ). It is clear that the surface morphology of the PTFE samples have not been significantly affected by irradiation.…”

“…PTFE fibers are manufactured using different processing technology methods (Tamaru, Yamamoto, & Asano, ; Xu, Huang, & Jin, ). In the old processing technology, the dispersion powder of PTFE materials is mixed with a lubricant to form PTFE pastes then an extrusion process is carried out.…”

“…The resultant extrudate can be either stretched or rolled and slit to form split‐film fibers (Tamaru et al, ). Other methods including extrusion process, split‐sheet process and split‐film process were used to manufacture PTFE fibers and filaments with molecular chains oriented along the fiber axis (Xu et al, ). In this study, the PTFE fibers were manufactured using the fiber extrusion technology machine which found in the Center for Technical Textiles at University of Leeds, UK (El‐Dessouky, Lawrence, Voice, Lewis, & Ward, ).…”

Triboelectric Effect of Polytetrafluoroethylene Fibers to Improve the Filtration Performance of Air-Purified Materials

“…PA, PPS, PET and PP fibers were all obtained from Shandong Textile Technology Co., Ltd. The PTFE sintered film ( Figure 1) with a thickness of 46μm was manufactured from PTFE split-film fibers [15]. General characteristics of six different fibers are shown in Table I.…”

Comparing accuracy of the methods of polytetrafluoroethylene fiber linear density measurement

“…Due to excellent chemical and thermal stability, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) split-film (staple) fibers (also called cotton-like materials or fibrous products) have experienced rapid growth as separation or purified materials, especially as the original fibers of various industrial filters used to capture airborne micron particles. [1][2][3][4] The linear density of PTFE split-film fibers is of considerable importance in determining the filtration efficiency of filters. During working, filters composed of fine PTFE fibers with a high degree of entanglements purify industrial exhaust gas by capturing airborne particles to transfer cleaner air into the environment.…”