Zylon®: Super fiber from lyotropic liquid crystal of the most rigid polymer

Abstract

The research on rigid-rod polybenzazoles (PBZ) was originally intended to develop super fibers for aerospace applications. Due to the technical difficulties in synthesizing PBZ and processing it to fibers, a polybenzoxazole (PBO) fiber, Zylon® launched by Toyobo is the only fiber that has been successfully commercialized so far. In this chapter, the history of development, manufacturing process, fiber properties, and unique applications are described for Zylon®. Chemistry of PBO and polymerization process are also presented and discussed.