ABSTRACT:The structural and thermal behaviors of polyester yarns treated with trichloroacetic acid-chloroform (TCAC) mixture were investigated by differential scanning calorimetric analysis (DSC), wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), infrared spectroscopy (IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of TCAC treatment on original fine filament (FFP) and microdenier (MDP) polyester yarns and on heat-set polyester yarns were studied. It was found that the glass transition temperature of TCAC-treated polyester yarns decreases with an increase in treatment concentration due to the plasticization effect, which is remarkable even at lower treatment concentration. The TCAC treatment on polyester yarns resulted in the formation of new crystallites in the extended noncrystalline domains of PET as well as growth and perfection of these new crystallites and the preexisting crystals. Further, the DSC thermograms revealed that TCAC treatment with 3% concentration could be able to overcome the structural changes in PET produced by heat setting at 180°C. The substantial changes in noncrystalline and crystalline domains observed were related to the mechanical properties of yarns. From the WAXS studies, an increase in crystal size and lateral order of TCAC-treated polyester yarns was noted. The most distinct changes brought about by TCAC treatment include overall orientation determined by the trans-gauche ratio from IR measurements. The removal of oligomers and smoothening out of the fiber surface by TCAC treatment were observed from SEM studies.