Preparation of polyether ester elastic fiber and its structure and properties

Objective To improve the current situation of single variety of elastic fibers in the field of textiles and apparel, thermoplastic polyether ester elastic (TPEE) fibers were prepared by melt spinning, aiming to achieve advantages of high elasticity, low hysteresis and easy processing. This research was set to study the effects of drafting and heat setting process on the properties of TPEE fibers in order to provide support for the development and application of the fibers. Method Thermoplastic polyether ester fibers were prepared by horizontal micro single-hole extruder, then drafted and heat-set to form drafted fibers. The crystallization properties, orientation properties, mechanical properties, elastic recovery properties and thermal shrinkage properties of TPEE fibers were tested and analyzed by X-ray diffractometer, sound velocity orientation instrument, and single yarn tesnsile tester. Results The effects of drafting ratio and heat setting temperature on the structure and properties of TPEE fibers were investigated by varying the drafting ratio and heat setting temperature. The results showed that when the heat setting temperature was 100 ℃ and the drafting ratio was increased from 3 times to 6 times, the crystallinity and orientation degree of TPEE fibers were increased with the increase of drafting ratio. With the increase of drafting ratio, the breaking strength of TPEE fibers was increased from 1.44 cN/dtex to 2.68 cN/dtex, the elongation at break decreased from 179.9% to 31.0%, and the elastic recovery rate initially increased and then decreased. When the drafting ratio was 5 times, the elastic recovery rate reached the maximum value of 96.2%. When the drafting ratio changed from 3 times to 6 times, the boiling water shrinkage rate was increased from 15.9% to 27.4%, and the dry heat shrinkage rate increased from 14.4% to 28.2%. With a 5 times drawing ratio, when the heat setting temperature was increased from 80 ℃ to 140 ℃, the crystallinity of TPEE fibers was increased and the total orientation degree of the TPEE fibers was decreased, the breaking strength and elastic recovery rate did not change significantly, and the elongation at break was initially increased and then decreased. At 140 ℃ heat-setting temperature, the breaking strength reached 2.49 cN/dtex and the elastic recovery rate reached 96.6% compared to other heat-setting temperatures. Notably, the boiling water shrinkage rate was dropped from 30.5% to 19.4%, and the dry heat shrinkage rate was decreased from 29.8% to 20.1% under the same heat-setting temperature (80-140 ℃), indicating a significant enhancement in the dimensional stability of the fibers. Conclusion With the increase of drafting ratio, the mechanical properties of TPEE fibers demonstrated enhancement, while the dimensional stability of which was significantly reduced. The elastic recovery properties were initially increased and then dropped under the same conditions, and the elastic recovery rate of the TPEE fibers was up to 96.2% as the draft ratio increased to 5 times. With the increase of heat-setting temperature, the dimensional stability of TPEE fibers was obviously enhanced, while the mechanical properties and elastic recovery properties of TPEE fibers were almost unaffected, and the elastic recovery rate was remained above 96.0%. This work provides more raw material choices for the application of TPEE elastic fibers in the deformations textiles. © 2024 China Textile Engineering Society. All rights reserved.