Sandwich-Type Composites Based on Smart Ionomeric Polymer and Electrospun Microfibers

Abstract

Taking advance of the fiber-reinforced polymer process, commonly used in the fabrication of polymer composites, in this work we used electrospun microfibers to reinforce self-healing ionomeric polymers producing sandwich-type composites. In particular, three-layer stack with poly(lactic acid), PLA, electrospun fibers in between two layers of commercial smart polymers has been obtained based on poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) (EMAA) copolymers, well-know with the tradename of Nucrel ® and Surlyn ® , both of them manufactured by Dupont TM Company. Surlyn ® is the corresponding ionomer of Nucrel ® in which the MAA groups are partially neutralized with sodium ions. In general, one of the main problems of thermoplastic composites, that provoke a lower impregnation of the fiber, is the high viscosity of the molten matrix. Therefore, in this work, we used electrospun microfibers in order to solve impregnation problem, thus considering that electrospinning process is an accessible, versatile and low-cost technique for fibers formation in the range of micron and nanometers. In order to create the sandwich-type structure, firstly, the optimization of the processing window has achieved in order to maintain the randomly oriented fiber structure on the final composites. In particular, the creation of sandwich-type structure with Surlyn ® reinforced with woven non-woven electrospun fibers based on PLA with enhanced mechanical as well as hardness and wear resistance can be used for future active packaging solutions.

Organic and Inorganic PCL-Based Electrospun Fibers

“…The electrospinning process, belonging to the electro-hydrodynamic processing [ 14 ], can consistently produce a wide variety of woven non-woven mat starting from polymeric solutions exposed to high electric fields that offer large surface areas, small inter-fibrous pore size, and high porosity [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ], with interest in the biomedical field since they mimic the structure of extracellular matrix [ 19 ]. Moreover, the electrospinning process is one of the most efficient, simple, and versatile processing techniques able to control micro and nanofibers’ structural and functional properties through a relatively simple and cost-effective approach [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

Electrospinning of PCL-Based Blends: Processing Optimization for Their Scalable Production

“…The electrospun polymeric mats present large surface areas and high porosity with small inter-fibrous pore size [ 5 ]. Polymeric electrospun mats are very versatile materials and they can be used for the production of monolayer and multilayer films and/or sandwich type composites [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Moreover, the electrospun mats can be easily modified by reinforcing the fibers with organic [ 10 , 11 ] and inorganic nanofillers [ 12 , 13 , 14 ] and metallic nanoparticles [ 15 , 16 ].…”

Potential Applications of Magnesium-Based Polymeric Nanocomposites Obtained by Electrospinning Technique

“…Thus, several studies can be found on the literature such as curcumin release [48], anticancer drugs release [49] or biocide release [50]. Summarizing, a large amount of diverse and smart material has been developed by using the electrospinning technique in any of its various setup configuration, giving place to advanced materials such as shape-memory electrospun mats [51], sandwich-type composite for packaging solutions [52] or reinforcement to epoxy resin films [53] among others.…”