The first example of hollow polynaphthoylenebenzimidazole fiber preparation

A new unique two-stage method for spinning hollow polynaphthoylenebenzimidazole (PNBI) fibers has been proposed. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber having a porous morphology was coated with poly(o-aminophenylene)- naphthoylenimide (PANI-O) precursor to form a composite fiber with a core–shell structure and subsequently this composite fiber precursor was heat treated in air. The inner PAN fiber underwent oxidative cyclization, accompanied by its high shrinkage, while the PANI-O shell, due to heterocyclization, turned into a PNBI-O shell, and the inner space of the hollow fiber was only partially filled with cyclized PAN.