Effect of Experimental Parameters on Morphological, Mechanical and Hydrophobic Properties of Electrospun Polystyrene Fibers

Materials

Siqi Huan²  Guoxiang Liu²  Guangping Han²  Wanli Cheng²  Zongying Fu²  Qinglin Wu¹  Qingwen Wang² 

[1] School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA; E-Mail:;College of Material Science and Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China; E-Mails:

关键词: electrospinning;    polystyrene nanofiber;    morphology;    tensile strength;    hydrophobicity;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ma8052718

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Polystyrene (PS) dissolved in a mixture of N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and/or tetrahydrofuran (THF) was electrospun to prepare fibers with sub-micron diameters. The effects of electrospinning parameters, including solvent combinations, polymer concentrations, applied voltage on fiber morphology, as well as tensile and hydrophobic properties of the fiber mats were investigated. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of electrospun fibers (23% w/v PS solution with applied voltage of 15 kV) showed that a new type of fiber with double-strand morphology was formed when the mass ratio of DMF and THF was 50/50 and 25/75. The tensile strength of the PS fiber film was 1.5 MPa, indicating strong reinforcement from double-strand fibers. Bead-free fibers were obtained by electrospinning 40% (w/v) PS/DMF solution at an applied voltage of 15 kV. Notably, when the ratio of DMF and THF was 100/0, the maximum contact angle (CA) value of the electrospun PS films produced at 15 kV was 148°.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.