The effect of UV irradiation on the electrospun PCL/TiO₂ composites fibers

Abstract

The effect of UV irradiation and micro‐ and nano‐TiO2 as well as titanate nanotubes (TiNT) on the phase morphology and thermal properties of the electrospun PCL composite fibers was investigated. Polycaprolactone (PCL)/TiO2 (micro‐ and nano‐TiO2 as well as titanate nanotubes) composite fibers were prepared by electrospinning a polymer solution. The PCL and PCL/TiO2 composite fibers were exposed to UV light at irradiation times of 5 and 10 days. After UV irradiation the crystallinity of the electrospun PCL/TiNTcomposite fibers increased because of the large specific surface area of TiNT. The thermal stability of the PCL/TiNT electrospun composite fibers increased due to the formation of crosslinking structure after UV irradiation. The SEM analysis suggests that after UV radiation the fibers showed high degree of degradation due to the high number of fibers breakages and fibers surface voids. The results of FTIR spectroscopy confirmed that the TiO2 particles enhance the degradation process because of their photocatalytic activity. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43539.

Electrospun Polycaprolactone Fibrous Membranes Containing Ag, TiO2 and Na2Ti6O13 Particles for Potential Use in Bone Regeneration

“…Anatase has proved the most efficient species in photocatalysis, because of its higher surface area and redox ability [26]. In tissue engineering, inorganic materials such as TiO 2 have shown excellent bacterial resistance and thermal stability over organic antibacterial materials [21,27,28,29,30,31,32,33]. Other systems studied with PCL as biopolymer for electrospinning are ZnO and Mg for their multifunctional properties, hydrophilicity and bioactivity, especially in terms of antibacterial activity [23,34].…”

Electrospinning of in situ and ex situ synthesized polyimide composites reinforced by titanate nanotubes

“…In many organic aprotic solvents, however, such a mechanism of stabilization does not occur. Recently, we have found that CTAB coated TiNT can be suspended in polar aprotic solvents (chloroform) by long term stirring . FTIR spectra (Figure ) indicate the strong adsorption of CTAB on the surface of nanotubes, probably due to interaction between OH groups in TiNT and  groups in CTAB.…”

“…Using our previously established method of untangle nanotubes agglomerates without shortening of their length by long term stirring, the colloidal solution of isolated TiNT obtained by 2 weeks stirring was used for preparation of PI/TiNT composite nanofibers. Figure (c,d) shows TEM image of polyimide nanofibers reinforced by titanate nanotubes prepared by ex situ and in situ respectively.…”

“…Studies incorporating titanate nanotube into electrospun fiber are still very limited. Bajsić et al . have embedded titanate nanotubes and TiO 2 nanospheres into electrospun polycaprolactone.…”

Electrospun organic–inorganic nanohybrids as sustained release drug delivery systems

“…Usually the fiber diameter ranges from a few nanometers to a few micrometers. [4][5][6] Electrospun drug loaded fibers have been widely explored for targeted release, for improving the dissolution rate of poorly water-soluble drugs, and for encapsulating multiple functional components. [7][8][9][10] However, when fabricating nanofibers a burst release of drug is often observed even if the polymer filament is insoluble in water (as is the case for PCL).…”