Fiber Spinning of Polyacrylonitrile Grafted Soy Protein in an Ionic Liquid/DMSO Mixture Solvent

The effects of ionic liquid BMIMCL (1-buthyl-3-methyl-imidazolium-chloride) on the solution of soy protein isolate (SPI) were first studied. In situ polymerization of acrylonitrile monomer in the presence of SPI was conducted in a BMIMCL/dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) mixture solvent to produce SPI-g-PAN. This graft polymer was blended with pure PAN in BMIMCL/DMSO (1:5) and spun into fiber using a wet spinning method. The effects of SPI content and solution temperature on the viscoelasticity of the spinning dope were studied. FTIR, DSC and solution studies were used to confirm the grafting of PAN. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the spun fibers under different draw ratios were investigated.