FIBRES

A fibre is a thin thread of a natural or artificial substance, especially

one that is used to make cloth or rope.
 Types of fibers

Natural Synthetic
fibers fibres
Natural Fibres
Natural Fibres are the fibres obtained from natural
sources.
 Characteristics of natural fibres:
➢ They are porous in nature, hence they absorb
our sweat and gives cooling effect.
➢ They are expensive.
➢ They can be attacked by moths and insects.
➢ They take time to dry up as they are porous in
nature and absorb more water.
➢ They don’t catch fire easily.
Synthetic
fibers
These are man made fibres obtained by chemical treatment
or various natural and artificial substances.
 Characteristics of synthetic fibres:
➢ They are not porous in nature, hence they
don’t absorb our sweat and makes us feel hot
in them.
➢ They are cheap.
➢ They are not attacked by moths and insects.
➢ They dry up very quickly as they are non
porous in nature and don’t absorb much
water.
➢ They catch fire easily and melt. They stick to
our body, giving severe burns.
 Difference between synthetic fibres and plastics
NATURAL FIBRES SYNTHETIC FIBRES
These are the fibres obtained naturally from These are man made fibres obtained by
plants and animals. chemical treatment or various natural and
artificial substances.
They are porous in nature, hence they absorb They are not porous in nature, hence they
our sweat and gives cooling effect. don’t absorb our sweat and makes us feel hot
in them.
They can be attacked by moths and insects. They are not attacked by moths and insects.

They take time to dry up. They dry up very quickly.

They don’t catch fire easily. They catch fire easily.

They are expensive. They are cheap.

Example: cotton, jute, silk Example: rayon, nylon

 IMPORTANT TERMS
➢ A synthetic fibre is a chain of small chemical units
joined together.
Each small unit is called a monomer. Eg.Ethene

➢Large chain formed by many monomers is called a

Polymer. Eg.Polythene

➢ The process of combining small monomers to form a

large polymer is called Polymerisation.
 Polymers may be natural or synthetic
Natural polymers:
❖ Natural fibers like cotton, wool and silk are polymers.
❖ Cotton is a polymer glucose.
❖ Wool and silk are the polymers of amino-acid (protein).
❖ Spider silk is one of the strongest natural polymers

Synthetic polymers:
❖ Synthetic polymers are made from chemical
substances. They are plastic in nature .
❖ Nylon and polyster are synthetic fibres
 .
❖ Ethylene is a monomer obtained from petroleum. Its
chemical formula is CH2 =CH2. During polymerization
many units of ethylene gets linked to form a chain as
follows:
CH2 CH2
CH2 CH2 CH2

This polymer is polyethylene, a kind of plastic- polythene

❖ Some polymers are made of two or more units. Example :
nylon which is made of amine and adipic acid. Like this:
 Rayon
Rayon is prepared by chemically treatment of wood pulp
(cellulose). Though cellulose is a natural polymer it needs
extensive chemical treatment to form rayon. Hence it is also
considered as a semi-synthetic fibre.

Advantage of rayon :
➢it is cheaper to produce as compared to cotton itself since
waste cotton and paper is used for making rayon.
➢Secondly, rayon can be blended with other fibres like wool and
silk.
 easily dyed
and
wooven
into cloth

good Properties
absorbent drapes well
of sweat of rayon

lustrous in
appearance
 Mixed with
fibre glass for
making
helmets
Dress material
because it is Used to make
soft, silky and jackets and
moisture tracksuits
absorbent

Uses of
rayon
Mixed with
Curtains cotton to
because it make
drapes well
bedsheets

Upholstery for
luxury cars Mixed with
and officeand wool to make
home carpets
furnishings
 Answer the following questions:

1) Name a regenerated fibre.

2) Rayon is used to make _____ & _______
3) _______ is a natural polymer
4) Why Rayon is called artificial silk?
5) Why cotton clothes are preferred during
summers not silk cloth?