Effect of hydrogen bonding and moisture cycling on the compressive performance of poly-pyridobisimidazole (M5) fiber

A clear correlation between the degree of intermolecular hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) and axial compressive strength of pyridobisimidazole (M5) as-spun fiber specimens subjected to varying annealing conditions has been established by means of Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy and single fiber elastica loop testing. As the water initially contained in the as-spun fiber is removed by heat treatment, improvements in polymer chain orientation promote the formation of intermolecular H-bonds, leading to enhanced fiber compressive strength values. M5 fiber specimens with the highest degree of intermolecular H-bonding of 96 ± 1% are found to have a compressive strength of 1.72 ± 0.09 GPa. Moisture cycling experiments of M5 annealed specimens have provided direct evidence of partial H-bond reversibility in this material, as saturation of M5 annealed fiber resulted in the reduction of the degree of intermolecular H-bonding from 93 to 64%. Upon drying the fiber at 120 °C in an inert atmosphere, the degree of H-bonding returned to the original value of 93%. However, repeated fiber moisture cycling resulted in a monotonic reduction in the degree of H-bonding in both the saturated condition (53%) and dry state (62%). The compressive strength of saturated and dried specimens after moisture cycling was found to be statistically equivalent at a reduced level of 1.29 GPa. The original degree of H-bonding and compressive strength could be recovered by re-annealing the fiber under tension.