Fiber Splitting of Bicomponent Meltblown Nonwovens by Ultrasonic Wave

Many technologies have been used to produce finer fibers due to their super advantages such as higher specific surfacearea, filtration/barrier property and absorption, as well as moderate porosity. Finer fibers are thus the great interest ofmany researchers in the nonwoven world, and many technologies have been used to make finer fibers. In this study, theauthors addressed a novel avenue to produce finer fibers by splitting side-by-side bicomponent meltblown nonwovenscomposed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyamide 6 (PA6) by means of ultrasonic wave, in caustic soda andbenzyl alcohol solutions respectively. The efficiency of fiber splitting was characterized in terms of dyeingratio/percentage of the tested webs. Other properties were also examined, including fiber diameter, web weight loss, airpermeability and thickness. In addition, SEM was used to observe fiber damage and fiber structure in the relevant webs.