Accelerating effect of chemical modification of staple acrylic fibers on thermal stabilization

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of chemical modification with guanidine carbonate (GC) to accelerate the thermal stabilization of yarns produced from staple acrylic fibers. Samples treated with a 5% (w/v) GC solution before stabilization were then thermally stabilized at 250 degrees C for different times and compared with untreated reference samples. Results obtained by fiber thickness, linear density, volume density, tensile strength, DSC, TGA, and FT-IR analyses revealed more significant thinning, increased density (up to 1.347 g/cm(3)), and an increase in carbon yield of up to 75.6% in the modified samples. Although tensile strength decreased with increasing stabilization time, the modified samples exhibited higher values than the references. DSC analysis confirmed faster stabilization, while FT-IR confirmed the conversion of nitrile groups and the formation of aromatic structures. The findings demonstrate that GC modification effectively accelerates the thermal stabilization of yarns produced from staple acrylic fibers.