Effect of Annealing on the Structure and Morphology of Nylon 6 Fibers

Changes in the structure of nylon 6 fibers annealed in dry and wet atmospheres were studied by small- and wide-angle x-ray diffraction. In the presence of water or saturated steam, fibers can be annealed to the same strucutral state at temperatures 70°C lower than in dry atmosphere. This is due to the enhanced mobility of the molecular segments in the amorphous region, a mechanism which is also known to lower the T_g by the same amount. Upon annealing under unconstrained conditions, lamellar spacing, crystallite size in the equatorial plane, crystalline as well as fiber density, and the chain-axis repeat increase with annealing temperature; whereas crystalline orientation and the Van der Waals separation of the hydrogen-bonded sheets decrease. The monoclinic angle 6 remains constant at 66.7° (σ = 0.3°) and might depend on the starting fiber rather than on the treatment of the fiber. Most of these changes occur above a critical temperature of 170°C if dry, or 100°C if wet; rate of crystallization is also the highest under these conditions in nylon. The effect of these changes on such fiber properties as dyeing and the role of microvoids in dye diffusion and in dye uptake are discussed. Surface premelting and the accompanying changes in the surface structure of the lamellae, selective melting, and more importantly, the longitudinal motion of the nylon 6 chains and the resulting folding of interfibrillar extended amorphous chains are invoked to explain the shrinkage of the fiber, disorientation of the crystallites, increase in crystalline perfection, and the increase in lamellar spacing.