Ternary Phase Diagrams of PBZT/Zytel 330/MSA and PBZT/Lubrizol/MSA solutions

Abstract : Continuous efforts to achieve practically useful molecular composite have been made in the Air Force Materials Laboratory since the first concept of molecular composite was reported more than ten years ago. The molecular composite fiber of PBZT and ABPBI has been obtained and the uniaxial modulus of the composite exactly follows the general rule of mixture. However, the preparation of high strength molecular composite of block has not been made successfully. A processing method for making block molecular composite has been developed using methane sulfonic acid (MSA). The method is the direct block coagulation of the MSA solution under pressure followed by a consolidation step. As reported in previous technical reports of polybenzobisthiazole (PBZT) and nylon composite system, there exists a number of problems during the processing of block type composite, such as void formation during coagulation, phase separation of the second component, gellation phenomena, and the layer formation during consolidation step.