Viscose fiber hybrid composites with high strength and practicality via cross-linking with modified melamine formaldehyde resin

Despite their great potential use in various textiles, cellulose viscose fibers are poor in tensile strength, thus hindering their practical application. In this work, viscose fiber with high tensile strength was prepared through in-situ functionalization with p-hydroxybenzaldehyde melamine-formaldehyde resin (PMfr). The successful incorporation of PMfr into the viscose fiber was proven by FT-IR and nitrogen content analysis. The introduction of PMfr can build up a polymeric network with fiber through cross-linking interactions, enabling the tensile strength of the PMfr@viscose fiber to increase from 1.90 to 2.4 cN/dTex. The results suggest that the strategy of incorporating PMfr into the viscose fiber is very efficient in enhancing its tensile strength, which may also have the potential to improve the mechanical properties of other fibers.