Structural Evolution of PGA Nascent Fiber during Single Low-Temperature and Segmented High-Temperature Hot Stretching

Polyglycolide (PGA) fibers applied as surgical sutures strongly depend on their microstructure. The structural evolution of PGA nascent fibers during single low-temperature stretching and segmented high-temperature stretching was analyzed based on a combination of in situ WAXD/SAXS and DSC measurements. The results indicated that the hot stretching was conducive to the crystal perfection and the local fragmentation and recrystallization of the lamellar crystals may occur under stress induction. The single low-temperature stretching of PGA nascent fibers could be divided into three stages: the stretching of amorphous regions, stretch-induced crystallization and the stretching of crystalline regions. The elongation at break of the fibers can be substantially increased by adopting a segmented stretching method, and the high-temperature stretching can also significantly increase the crystallinity and orientation. The amorphous orientation peak appearing in the low-temperature stretching was gradually converted to crystallization peak during the heating process, which greatly improved the crystallinity and orientation of the fibers. High-temperature stretching compared with low-temperature stretching was more favorable for crystal perfection and structural evolution, where lamellar crystals underwent stress-induced fragmentation recrystallization to transform to fibrous crystals as the strain increased.

Structural Evolution of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Low-Entangled Films with Reserved Shish Crystals During Hot Stretching

Shish crystals are crucial to achieving high performance low-dimensional ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE)products.Typically,high stretch and shear flow fields are necessary for the formation of shish crystals.In this study,UHMWPE gel films with reserved shish crystals were prepared by gel molding,the structural evolution and properties of UHMWPE films stretched at temperatu res of 100,110,120and 130℃were investigated by in situ small-angle X-ray scattering(SAXS)/ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering(USAXS)/wide-angle X-ray diffraction(WAXD)measu rements as well as scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC)measurements.Our findings showed that the reserved shish crystals can facilitate the formation and structural evolution of shish-kebab crystals during the hot stretching.Additionally,the reserved shish crystals promote the structu ral evolution of UHMWPE films to a greater extent when stretched at 120 and 130℃,compared to 100 and 110℃,resulting in higher crystallinity,orientation,thermal properties,breaking strength and Young's modulus.Com pared to UHMWPE high-entangled films with reserved shish crystals prepared by compression molding,UHMWPE low-entangled films with reserved shish crystals prepared by gel molding are more effective in inducing the formation and evolution of shish-kebab crystals during the hot stretching,resulting in increased breaking strength and Young's modulus.