Investigation into the gelation and crystallization of polyacrylonitrile

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is soluble in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and the resulting solution can gel by various mechanisms. The effects of temperature and water on the thermoreversible gelation of PAN have attracted much attention because of their importance in the fiber formation and film casting. Rheological tests were employed in this study to examine the gelation behavior and determine the gel point temperature of PAN–DMSO solution. Calorimetric studies of PAN–DMSO gels were conducted through Differential Scanning Calorimetry and no crystallization was discovered in these gels prepared at low temperature. X-ray diffraction of different PAN gels indicated that in the absence of water, gels resulted from PAN–DMSO solution by decreasing temperature were not crystallizable. In contrast, water-induced gelation led to crystallization of PAN gel. The water content in the formed gel is responsible for its crystallinity and average crystallite size.