Solid solid phase change (SSPC) chitosan-g-mPEG fiber with improved mechanical performance via in-situ wet spinning process

Abstract

Nowadays, environment-friendly and sustainable polymers have aroused great research attention, due to serious pollution caused by nondegradable and nonrenewable polymer waste. In this paper, chitosan (CS) grafted polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether (mPEG) (CS-g-mPEG) fiber, with solid-solid phase change (SSPC) behavior and improved mechanical performance, were prepared successfully by in-situ wet spinning process. The tensile strength of CS-g-mPEG fiber reached 1.36 cN/dtex, increased by more than 50 % contrasted with CS fiber, due to the enhancement of molecular entanglement and hydrogen bonding interactions. Particularly, CS-g-mPEG fiber with stable shape could actively absorb heat as ambient temperature above 46 °C, then would release heat as ambient temperature below 26 °C. So, the human body will not feel too cold or heat. Thus, this work do not only give a continuous process of fabricating SSPC CS-g-mPEG fiber for industry, but also provides an important choice for smart textiles.

Keywords: Chitosan; Composite fiber; Functionalization; Solution spinning.