Photoaging properties of Vectran fabric

To research the influence of light aging on Vectran fabric,the photoaging of Vectran fabric exposed to xenon-arc lamp was investigated. The tensile propeties and structure before and after photoaging experiments were investigated,as well as the aging mechanism of Vectran fiber. xenon-arc Lamp exposure leads dramatic decrease of the tensile strength of Vectran fabric. It can be seen that the absorption peaks of C O near 1 725 cm- 1and of C—O near 1 110 cm- 1become weaken from ATR-FT-IR spectra of Vectran fiber,which was attributed to breaking of molecular chains. The ESEM images shows that low molecule compounds are separated out from the inner side of Vectran fiber,which results in serious coarsing on the fiber' s surface. The DSC analysis shows the photoaging has seriously destroyed the crystalline structure inside the Vectran fiber.