A preparation technique for examination of wet-spun polymer fibers in a scanning electron microscope

In this paper the technique is discussed of sample preparation for freshly wet-spun polymer fibers, to be examined by scanning electron microscopy. It makes use of cryogenic breaking of the samples, followed by freeze drying or freeze-etching of the specimen and coating it with a charge conducting layer. The method can also be adapted to the investigation of intermediate coagulation structures of the spinning fiber. Results are discussed for nylon-6 and polyurethane wet-spun fibers.