Systematic study of trimethyl aluminum infiltration in polyethylene terephthalate and its effect on the mechanical properties of polyethylene terephthalate fibers

Abstract

Elasticity and photoelasticity relationships for polyethylene terephthalate fiber networks by molecular simulationHybrid organic-inorganic materials are of increasing interest in the development of novel materials that unite characteristic properties of both organic and inorganic constituents. This work provides a mechanistic understanding of the processing space necessary to utilize hybrid modifications to produce advanced high strength fibrous and textile materials. The infiltration of organometallic precursors into fiber forming polymers and the subsequent formation of a hybrid material interface is detailed. To explore this in more detail, in-situ quartz crystal microgravimetry is employed to investigate the infiltration of trimethyl aluminum (TMA) into polyethylene terephthalate polymer films. Specifically, films with varied crystallinities are explored demonstrating that an increase in crystallinity results in a decrease in mass uptake of trimethyl aluminum. Subsequently, the authors highlight the structure-property relationships between modified and unmodified fibers infiltrated with TMA. For the first time, increases in peak load and elongation is observed by facile exposure to organometallic vapors. The combined peak load and elongation increase is an exciting outcome typically not observed in synthetic fibers.

Harnessing ALD to directly map the morphology of organic photovoltaic bulk heterojunctions

“…Since the images are obtained using backscattered electrons, the bright domains represent the higher density ZnO nanoparticles dispersed in the P3HT:PCBM organic host matrix (dark contrast). Generally, the diffusion of ALD precursors and hence also the in-situ conversion to metal oxide are in the amorphous regions of semi-crystalline polymers [13]. Therefore, the location of the ZnO domains after the ALD process represents the location of the amorphous domains in the same film prior to the ALD process.…”

Recent Advances in Sequential Infiltration Synthesis (SIS) of Block Copolymers (BCPs)

“…Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) gravimetry is quite often used in combination with in situ FTIR or alone to monitor the SIS process in situ [ 30 , 33 , 43 , 51 , 52 , 54 ]. It consists in employing a quartz crystal commonly used in deposition systems and modifying it with a thermally-equilibrated polymeric coating matching the polymer which is being infiltrated in the vacuum chamber of the ALD [ 54 ]. During the precursor adsorption and diffusion inside the polymer, the changes in the oscillation frequency of the quartz crystal are monitored and converted into the precursor mass uptake or loss of the polymer, through the knowledge of the material density and acoustic impedance.…”

“…However, appropriate calibration standards are required for quantitative depth-profiling [ 68 ]. ToF-SIMS has been used to understand the depth distribution of oxides after SIS treatment, usually adopted in homopolymer layers such as PMMA [ 56 , 63 ] and PS [ 56 ], PET film and fibers [ 54 ], but also in block copolymers layers such as PS- b -P2VP both as micellar films [ 58 ] and self-assembled nanodomains infiltrated with [ 43 ].…”

SCIP: a new simultaneous vapor phase coating and infiltration process for tougher and UV-resistant polymer fibers

“…Highly dense polymers, such as Kevlar, limit the possibilities of an inltration of molecules into the bulk. 6 Generally, several methods can be used to inltrate polymers from the liquid phase, but those require polymers with a high level of porosity in which the guest material can penetrate, aggregate and form clusters. 7 If a modication of the mechanical properties is aimed, then such clustering will most likely embrittle the polymer.…”