Thermal induced morphological changes of poly(ethylene oxide) nanofibrous webs

Abstract

The crystallinity of fibres prepared by electrospinning shows lower level in comparison with samples processed by common technologies such as moulding or film casting. Thus, the attempts to improve the structure of electrospun fibres in order to increase physical and mechanical properties of nonwoven webs are obvious. Post-process thermal treatment is one of the possibilities of the crystallinity enhancement that can be easily included to the finishing operation of final products. For the experiment we used poly(ethylene oxide) representing electrospun-friendly material and two solvents - methanol and water, both ensuring good electrospinnability. It is demonstrated that a choice of polymer solvents plays a significant role in fibre diameter and their capabilities to resist applied heat. However, in all cases the enhancement of crystallinity is detected at the short time of thermal exposure. © 2018 TANGER Ltd. All Rights Reserved.