Preparation of nonwoven fabrics made from microfibers by using a carbon dioxide laser-thinning method

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A carbon dioxide (CO_2) laser-thinning method developed by us could easily produce the nonwoven fabrics without using any solvent such as electrospinning and flashspinning. The obtained nonwoven fabric was composed of the endless mircofibers with a uniform diameter without droplets such as the meltblowing.Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nonwoven fabric was prepared from microfibers obtained by using a carbon dioxide laser-thinning method. The PET nonwoven fabric obtained was made of the endless mircofibers with a uniform diameter without droplets. The fiber diameter can be varied by controlling an airflow rate into the air jet and a supplying speed of an original fiber into a laser-irradiating point. The fiber diameter decreased, and its birefringence increased as the airflow rate increased and the supplying speed decreased. When the microfiber prepared by irradiating the laser operated at a power density of 4.8 W cm^<-2> to the original fiber supplied at S_s=0.15 m min^<-1> was dragged at an airflow rate of 30 L min^<-1>, the thinnest microfiber with a diameter of 3.6 pm was obtained.Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) nonwoven fabric was prepared from microfibers obtained by using a carbon dioxide laser-thinning method. The PLLA nonwoven fabric obtained was made of the endless mircofibers with a uniform diameter without droplets. The fiber diameter can be varied by controlling an airflow rate into the air jet, a supplying speed of an original fiber into a laser-irradiating point, and laser power strength. The fiber diameter decreased, and its birefringence increased as the airflow rate increased and the supplying speed decreased. When the microfiber prepared by irradiating the laser operated at a power strength of 66 W cm^<-2> to the originalfiber supplied at S_s=0.1 m minwas dragged at an airflow rate of 30 L min^<-1>, the thinnest microfiber with a diameter of 3.4 μm was obtained.