Degradation of PBO Fiber by Heat and Light

PBO and p-aramids fibers were compared on thermal degradation in TG and DTG experiments, and PBO fiber showed the highest degradation temperature in both air and nitrogen atmosphere. Annealed under high temperature of 100°C, 200°C, 300°C and 400°C for 1.5 hours, the tenacity of these samples all decreased with the temperature, while PBO fiber showed the best tensile retention property. Whereas using the xenon arc light to simulate sunlight irradiated on the PBO and Kevlar samples for different time respectively, PBO showed the worst tensile retention property. In contrast, the p-aramid fibers showed their relatively good mechanical stability when exposed to the simulated sunlight. Therefore, the application of PBO fibers should be careful in the state of sunlight irradiation although PBO has the highest original mechanical and thermal property.