Polyethersulfone melt-spun fibers plasticized with epoxy oligomer

In order to prepare Polyethersulfone (PES) melt-spun fibers, epoxy (EP) oligomer was adopted as a novel plasticizer. The plasticization of EP on PES was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and rheological techniques. The results revealed that the glass transition temperature (Tg), the complex viscosity (η∗), and melt processing temperature (Tmp) of PES/EP blends decreased significantly with the increase of EP content. FTIR spectroscopy and rheological behavior demonstrated no signs of crosslinking reactions occurring between PES and EP molecules. Finally, PES melt-spun fibers were successfully obtained by using EP as a plasticizer, showing the highest tensile strength at 2.71 cN/dtex. The morphologies of the fibers observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) presented smooth and uniform surface, and compact fracture.