Effect of ZnO and TiO2 on properties of polystyrene/nitrile rubber electrospun fiber mats

Abstract

This research was aimed to study the effect of zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) on mechanical and antibacterial properties of PS/NBR electrospun fibers. 15%wt of polystyrene (PS) blended with nitrile rubber (NBR) at 50:50 w/w was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran to prepare the solution of PS and NBR. ZnO and TiO2 are added into PS/NBR solution at 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0%wt. From the results, Young’s modulus of PS/NBR/TiO2 was higher than PS/NBR/ZnO electrospun mats. For the effect of filler content, increasing content of either TiO2 or ZnO up to 1.0%wt increased Young's modulus of PS/NBR electrospun fibers whereas the addition of either TiO2 or ZnO more than 1.0%wt decreased the Young's modulus. The percentage strain at break was also decreased as the content of ZnO and TiO2 increased. Moreover, the antibacterial properties, it was found that the addition of 2-3%wt ZnO inhibited the growth of E. coli and S. aureus on the electrospun PS/NBR fibers.