15—MODEL VISCOSE RAYON FILAMENTS

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Abstract
The laboratory preparation of model viscose filaments is described. These filaments have much higher deniers than commercial viscose rayon filaments but contain similar structural features. Since the structural regions in the model filaments are of greater size than those in commercial rayon they can studied with greater facility. A detailed examination of transverse sections of model filaments with the optical and electron microscopes is described. Evidence is presented on several features that have been either inconclusively demonstrated or have been variously interpreted in studies on fine filaments. An outer layer termed the cuticle is present in model filaments spun into coagulation baths containing zinc, and is absent in filaments spun into baths free from zinc. On the basis of cavities observed in the skin region of filaments showing a cuticle, mechanism for skin staining is proposed. Orientation effects displayed in the outer layers of these filaments are explained in terms of shrinkage forces and the presence or absence of a cuticle.