Structure of PPTA fibers derived directly from a liquid crystalline prepolymer dope in an organic solvent

The structure and properties of the pulp-like aromatic polyamide PPTA fibers prepared directly from a polymerization medium were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry, and polarizing light microscopy. The morphology of the fiber appears significantly different from that of Kevlar and does not reveal a skin-core structure. Regular defect bands and, thus, the regular clustering of the chain ends also could not be observed.