Fabrication of uvioresistant poly(p‐phenylene benzobisoxazole) fibers based on hydrogen bond

ABSTRACT The poly(p‐phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fiber with excellent performance is vulnerable to the irradiation of UV light, which significantly limits their application in advanced composites. Therefore, finding feasible and efficient ways to improve the uvioresistant properties of PBO fiber is of significance. In this work, a facile one‐pot method is developed for continuously preparing the PBO/poly(2,5‐dihydroxy‐1, 4‐phenylpyridimidazole) (PIPD) copolymer fiber to greatly enhance the anti‐UV properties of PBO fibers. The experimental results demonstrate that the fabricated PBO/PIPD copolymer fiber (molar ratio of 7:1) with greatly improved surface wetting properties (the maximum increase can reach about 179%) possesses satisfactory and desired uvioresistant performance, which is 30.8% higher than that of pure PBO fibers after 480 h UV aging irradiation. The fabricated PBO/PIPD copolymer fiber with improved UV stability has the potential to be applied to many important application areas even in a severe and harsh environment. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48432.