Researchers develop polymer yarn to rival spider silk strength
16/12/2019
Study leader Xiaojian Liao and his team published a paper in the journal Science, in which they describe how the findings could be useful in designing other strong and resilient polymer fibres for potential use in textiles as well as biomedicine and space technology.
To do this, the research team electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) co-methyl acrylate yarns, modified with poly(ethylene glycol) bisazide (PEG-BA). Yarns were then heat-stretched and left under tension to slowly cool.
This annealing process was said to align the yarn’s small fibres and link them together via the PEG-BA molecules, giving the yarn its uniquely strong properties.
In a related piece, Bronwyn Fox of Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology, wrote that this study represents a breakthrough in overcoming the limitations of synthetic fibres. The next step, he predicted, will be to carbonise the electrospun multi-fibrillar yarns and then measure the carbon fibre properties — potentially resulting in “a new generation of high-performance carbon fibres with unprecedented properties”.
Image: Pixabay
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