Information AboutRayon |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT RAYON | |
| organic polymers | |
| cellulose | |
| synthetic fibers | |
| silk | |
|
Rayon is a manufactured regenerated Cellulosic Fiber . Rayon is produced from naturally occurring Polymer s and therefore it is not a truly synthetic fiber, nor is it a natural fiber. HISTORY Nitrocellulose The fact that Nitrocellulose is soluble in organic solvents such as ether and acetone, made it possible for Georges Audemars to develop the first "artificial Silk " about 1855 , but his method was impractical for commercial use. Hilaire De Charbonnet , Comte de Chardonnay, patented "Chardonnay silk" in 1884 . The commercial production started 1891, but it was Flammable , and more expensive than acetate or cuprammonium rayon. Because of this, production was stopped before World War I , for example 1912 in Germany. Acetate Method Paul Schützenberger discovered that cellulose can be reacted with acetic acid anhydride to form Cellulose Acetate . The triacetate is only soluble in chloroform making the method expensive. The discovery that hydrolyzed cellulose acetate is soluble in less polar solvents, like Acetone , made production of cellulose acetate fibers cheap and efficient. Cuprammonium Method The German chemist Eduard Schweizer discovered that Tetraamminecopper Dihydroxide could dissolve cellulose. Max Fremery and Johann Urban developed a method to produce carbon fibers for use in Light Bulb s in 1892. Production of rayon for textiles started in 1899 in the Vereinigte Glanzstofffabriken AG in Oberbruch . Improvement by the J.P. Bemberger AG in 1901 made the artificial silk a product comparable to real silk. Viscose Method Viscose finally, in 1894 , Charles Frederick Cross , Edward John Bevan , and Clayton Beadle patented their artificial silk, which they named " Viscose ", because the reaction product of Carbon Disulfide and Cellulose in basic conditions gave a highly viscous solution of Xanthate . Avtex Fibers Incorporated began selling their formulation in 1910 in the United States. The name "rayon" was adopted in 1924 , with "viscose" being used for the viscous organic liquid used to make both rayon and Cellophane . In Europe , though, the fabric itself became known as "viscose," which has been ruled an acceptable alternative term for rayon by the Federal Trade Commission . The method is able to used wood (cellulose and lignin) as a source of cellulose while the other methods need lignin-free cellulose as starting material. This makes it cheaper and therefore is was used on a larger scale than the other methods. Contamination of the waste water by Carbon Disulfide , lignin and the Xanthate s made this process detrimental to the environment. Rayon was only produced as a filament fiber until the 1930s when it was discovered that broken waste rayon could be used in Staple fiber. The physical properties of rayon were unchanged until the development of high-tenacity rayon in the 1940s . Further research and development led to the creation of high-wet-modulus rayon (HWM rayon) in the 1950s Textiles, Ninth Edition by Sara J. Kadolph and Anna L. Langford. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. MAJOR FIBER PROPERTIES Rayon is a very versatile fiber and has the same comfort properties as natural fibers. It can imitate the feel and texture of silk, Wool , Cotton and Linen . The fibers are easily Dyed in a wide range of colors. Rayon fabrics are soft, smooth, cool, comfortable, and highly absorbent, but they do not insulate body heat, making them ideal for use in hot and humid climates Classifications & Analysis of Textiles: A Handbook by Karen L. LaBat, Ph.D. and Carol J. Salusso, Ph.D. University of Minnesota, 2003. The durability and appearance retention of regular rayon are low, especially when wet; also, rayon has the lowest Elastic Recovery of any fiber. However, HWM Rayon is much stronger and exhibits higher durability and appearance retention. Recommended care for regular rayon is dry-cleaning only; HWM rayon can also be machine washed . GALLERY OF TEXTURES |
|
|