Characteristics of Synthetic Fibres: Overview, Types, and Uses

Characteristics of Synthetic Fibres: You must be well aware that prehistoric people used leaves and animal skins to cover their bodies. The invention of cloth was a milestone in the history of civilization. Nowadays we have a variety of clothes to suit our needs and taste and according to different seasons. They come in various colours and styles. In this article, we will study about the characteristics of synthetic fibres in detail and how these characteristics are useful.

Before studying the characteristics of synthetic fibres, let us study what is synthetic fibre in detail.

Synthetic Fibres or Man-Made Fibres

Synthetic fibres are man-made fibres. Fibres such as rayon, nylon and polyester, which are made by humans, are called synthetic fibres.

Most of these fibres like nylon and polyester are made from chemicals that are obtained from coal and petroleum. Hence, these fibres are also called petrochemicals.

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Semi-Synthetic fibres

A chemical process creates semi-synthetic fibres from naturally occurring fibres. The naturally occurring fibre is extracted, broken down, and rebuilt. The most common material used for this is cellulose. Cellulose is a naturally occurring component in plants. The cellulose is taken from the plants, dissolved, and spun into fibre. Rayon is an example of this fibre.

Properties of Synthetic Fibres

Fibres and fabrics play a large role in everyday applications. Let us study some of the properties and uses of different synthetic fibres:

Rayon

Rayon is the most widely used fibre and is also known as artificial silk. The raw material used is wood pulp or cotton linters. Cellulose is an important component of plants and is a polymer made of units of glucose. Cellulose is extracted, purified and treated with chemicals to get a thick viscous, honey-coloured solution called viscose.

Rayon fibres are made by passing the viscose through fine holes of a spinneret. They are hardened by passing them through a sulphuric acid bath and are finally spun into rayon.

Rayon Characteristics

Some of its characteristics are:

• i. It is soft, comfortable and absorbent like cotton.
• ii. It has a silky texture.
• iii. It is cheaper than silk.
• iv. It is a strong and stable fiber.

Rayon Uses

The various uses of rayon are explained below:

• i. It is a good fibre for clothing.
• ii. It drapes like silk and is, therefore, a good fabric to make fashionable garments.
• iii. Due to its shiny texture, it is used for home furnishings such as bedspreads, curtains and carpets.
• iv. It is also used to make automobile tyre cords.

Nylon

It is another very common man-made fibre. It is purely synthetic. Nylon was synthesised in \(1931\). Nylon replaced woollen or silken stockings as they were cheaper and easily available. It is a polymer made from two kinds of monomers by a process called condensation polymerisation. There are various nylons such as nylon \(6\) nylon \(6,\,6\) and nylon \(5,0\).

Nylon Characterstics

Some of the nylon characteristics are:

• i. They are lustrous.
• ii. They are strong, elastic and light in weight.
• iii. It is damage resistant to many chemicals and oil.
• iv. It does not absorb water.
• v. It dries quickly and maintains its shape.

Nylon Uses

The various uses of nylon are given below:

• i. It is used for making socks, stockings, tracksuits, combat uniforms and parachutes.
• ii. It is used to make garments like saris.
• iii. It is used in making swimwear.
• iv. It is used in making tyre cords.
• v. It is used in making ropes
• vi. It is also used in making small machine parts, zip, fasteners, toothbrushes and fishing nets.

Polyester

Polyester was invented after nylon and is one of the popular fibres available. It comes from coal, air, water and petroleum and is made from repeating units of esters. The common polyester formed is also called terylene or dacron. It can be blended and drawn into fine fibre threads that can be woven to make cloth. The properties of polyester are similar to those of nylon.

Polyster Characteristics

Some of the polyster characteristics are:

• i. Polyester fibre is very strong.
• ii. They are crease-resistant.
• iii. It dries easily.
• iv. It can be blended or woven with other natural fibres- with wool, it makes poly-wool or terewool, and with cotton, it forms poly-cot or terecot.
• v. It has good resilience (the ability to return to its original shape after it has been stretched).
• vi. It is moth resistant.

Polyster Uses

Some of the uses of Polyster uses are explained below:

i. It is used to make conveyor belts.
ii. It is used to make lightweight sails.
iii. It is used for making recording tapes.
iv. It is used for making curtains and draperies.
v. Terecot or poly-cot is used as dress material.
vi. Terewool or poly-wool is used to make sweaters, shawls, carpets, etc.

Acrylic

Acrylic is a lightweight and soft synthetic fiber that not only feels like wool but is also warm. It does not shrink, is wrinkle-resistant and is cheaper than wool; it is commonly used as a wool substitute.

Acrylic Uses

The acrylic uses are explained below:

• i. It is used in making sweaters, socks, home furnishings, blankets and other clothing.
• ii. Industrial use of acrylic includes craft yarns, boats and vehicles.

Advantages of Synthetic Fibres

Fabrics made from synthetic fibres have many advantages over fabrics made from natural fibres. Thus the advantages of synthetic fibres can be concluded as follows:

• i. They are stronger, more elastic, tougher and more durable.
• ii. They are colour-fast and do not bleed colour when washed.
• iii. They are easy to wash, and since they absorb less water, they are easy to dry.
• iv. They retain creases longer and do not wrinkle.
• v. They do not shrink when washed.
• vi. They are resistant to attacks by insects.

Disadvantages of Synthetic Fibres

The disadvantages of synthetic fibres are explained below:

i. Synthetic fibres are not very comfortable to wear during the summer, as they do not absorb water or sweat.
ii. Many of them catch fire more quickly than natural fabrics and should not be worn in the kitchen.

Summary

In this article, we studied that synthetic fibres are made by man from chemicals. Also, we studied in detail the different types of synthetic fibres and their characteristic properties that make them so useful. Now we know the advantages as well as the disadvantages of synthetic fibres over natural fibres.

FAQs on Synthetic Fibres

Q.1. What is the most common characteristic of most synthetic fibres?
Ans: The most common characteristic of most synthetic fibres is that they absorb less water and therefore dries easily.

Q.2. What are the characteristics of synthetic fibres?
Ans: The characteristics of synthetic fibres are as follows:
i. They are stronger, elastic, tough and durable.
ii. They are easy to wash, and since they absorb less water, they are easy to dry.
iii. They retain creases longer and do not wrinkle.
iv. They do not shrink when washed.
v. They are resistant to attacks by insects.

Q.3. What are the advantages of synthetic fibres?
Ans: The advantages of synthetic fibres over natural fibres are as follows:
i. They are stronger, more elastic, tougher and more durable.
ii. They are colour-fast and do not bleed colour when washed.
iii. They are easy to wash, and since they absorb less water, they are easy to dry.
iv. They retain creases longer and do not wrinkle.
v. They do not shrink when washed.
vi. They are resistant to attacks by insects.

Q.4. What are the disadvantages of synthetic fibre?
Ans: The disadvantages of synthetic fibre are as follows:
i. Synthetic fibres are not very comfortable to wear during the summer, as they do not absorb water or sweat.
ii. Many of them catch fire more quickly than natural fibers and should not be worn in the kitchen.

Q.5. Write some uses of Polyester.
Ans: The uses of polyester are as follows:
i. It is used to make conveyor belts.
ii. It is used to make lightweight sails.
iii. It is used for making recording tapes.
iv. It is used for making curtains and draperies.

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We hope this detailed article on characteristics of Synthetic fibres are helpful to you. If you have any queries on this page or in general about Synthetic fibres characteristics, reach us through the comment box below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.