Electrospinning of Nonwoven Fabrics from Polypropylene Melt with Additions of Stearates of Divalent Metals

Abstract

It was shown that by adding up to 10 wt. % of the stearates of mono- and divalent metals sodium, magnesium, calcium, or zinc it is possible to obtain fibers with diameters of 1-5 μm from a polypropylene melt, whereas the diameter of fibers from the pure polymer is larger than 20 μm. This is achieved as a result of the lower viscosity and higher electroconductivity of the molten polymer, where the greatest effect is observed with sodium stearate. It was established by x-ray structural analysis that the supermolecular structure of polypropylene in unwoven materials differs substantially from the structure of the original polymer: whereas the stable α form of the crystals is observed in the granule, the meso phase predominates in the unwoven materials. Notwithstanding the increased hydrophilicity of the films with the addition of the additives, the unwoven materials exhibit superhydrophobic characteristics.