The Mechanical Properties of PVC Nanofiber Mats Obtained by Electrospinning

Abstract

This paper investigates the mechanical properties of oriented polyvinyl chloride (PVC) nanofiber mats, which, were obtained by electrospinning a PVC solution. PVC was dissolved in a solvent mixture of tetrahydrofuran/dimethylformamide. Electrospinning parameters used in our work were, voltage 20 kV; flow rate 0.5 mL/h; the distance between the syringe tip and collector was 15 cm. The rotating speed of the drum collector was varied from 500 to 2500 rpm with a range of 500 rpm. Nanofiber mats were characterized by scanning electron microscope, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry methods. The mechanical properties of PVC nanofiber mats, such as tensile strength, Young’s modulus, thermal degradation, and glass transition temperature were also analyzed. It was shown that, by increasing the collector’s rotation speed from 0 (flat plate collector) to 2500 rpm (drum collector), the average diameter of PVC nanofibers decreased from 313 ± 52 to 229 ± 47 nm. At the same time, it was observed that the mechanical properties of the resulting nanofiber mats were improved: tensile strength increased from 2.2 ± 0.2 MPa to 9.1 ± 0.3 MPa, Young’s modulus from 53 ± 14 to 308 ± 19 MPa. Thermogravimetric analysis measurements showed that there was no difference in the process of thermal degradation of nanofiber mats and PVC powders. On the other hand, the glass transition temperature of nanofiber mats and powders did show different values, such values were 77.5 °C and 83.2 °C, respectively.

A Review on Electrospun PVC Nanofibers: Fabrication, Properties, and Application

“…PVC nanofibers started decomposition at 276 • C, 6 • C lower than PVC powder (282 • C). However, our recent work [81] showed that the TGA curve for the initial PVC powder and the nanofibers is the same and has two thermal degradation stages. The first stage of thermal degradation starts at 233 • C and the second stage starts at 320 • C. Figure 5 shows the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) curves of PVC powder and PVC nanofibers.…”

Effects of Montmorillonite and Gentamicin Addition on the Properties of Electrospun Polycaprolactone Fibers

“…The use of a slow speed manifold makes the fiber system random. This fiber microstructure determines specific mechanical properties, different from those observed in unidirectional fiber systems [58][59][60][61]. By analyzing the course of the curves on the basis of the tensile-strength-elongation relationship, it can be concluded, based on theoretical considerations, that PCL_MMT membranes are characterized by the highest strength, and thus the strength of interfiber contacts (the so-called complete fusion).…”

Microstructure Manipulation of Polyurethane‐Based Macromolecular Scaffold for Tendon/Ligament Tissue Engineering

“…This trend is in accordance with other studies. [4,13] In detail, the EPU-2000 illustrated the highest tensile strength (≈35.76 MPa) and modulus (≈31.10 MPa), which were significantly higher than those of EPU-500 (tensile strength ≈ 26.44 MPa and tensile modulus ≈ 18.94 MPa). The reduction of tensile modulus in EPU-2500 could be accounted for fiber discontinuity.…”

“…This phenomenon could be explained by the fact that the entanglement of nanofiber diameter between molecules leads to the presence of fewer defects in the structure, which means a more structural uniformity, and thereby higher durability. [13]…”

“…[12] Up to date, the electrospun membranes have been used for various applications, including air filtration, oil/water separation, tissue engineering scaffolding, drug delivery, sensors, and so on. [13] For decades, the electrospun biomaterials have been highly studied because of their ECM mimicking and microporous scaffolds, benefiting from a high surface area to volume ratio. [14][15][16] Given the hierarchical and parallel organized collagen fibers of native T/L tissues, using aligned micro/nanoscale fibrous scaffolds could be an attractive option.…”