Abstract
In this work poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) based electrospun mats were prepared by blending PCL with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). The electrospinning processing parameters were firstly optimized with the aim to obtain scalable PCL-based electrospun mats to be used in the industrial sector. Neat PCL as well as PCL-MCC and PCL-PHB based mats in different proportions (99:1; 95:5; 90:10) were prepared. A complete morphological, thermal and mechanical characterization of the developed materials was carried out. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations showed that the addition of PHB to the PCL matrix considerably reduced the formation of beads. Both the addition of MCC and PHB reduced the thermal stability of PCL, but obtained materials with enough thermal stability for the intended use. The electrospun PCL fibers show greatly reduced flexibility with respect to the PCL bulk material, however when PCL is blended with PHB their stretchability is increased, changing their elongation at break from 35% to 70% when 10 wt% of PHB is blended with PCL. However, the mechanical response of the different blends increases with respect to the neat electrospun PCL, offering the possibility to modulate their properties according to the required industrial applications.
Highlights
Electrospinning can be considered an easy and effective way to obtain polymeric fiber mats with dimensions from micro to nano range [1]
Two classes of parameters have to be optimized when working with the electrospinning: the parameters belonging to the electrospinning process itself and those depending on the electrospun polymeric solution [3]
Each run with the corresponding electrospinning processing conditions was used to produce randomly oriented electrospun PCL fibers during 30 s, while the formation of fibers was corroborated by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis
Summary
Electrospinning can be considered an easy and effective way to obtain polymeric fiber mats with dimensions from micro to nano range [1]. Many strategies have been proposed to improve PCL’s performance in order to extend its industrial applications; proposed improvements include copolymerization [21,22,23,24], the addition of different modifiers (e.g., fillers, nanofillers, etc.) [16] and blending with other biopolymers [24,26]. In this context, to guarantee the biocompatible and/or biodegradable character of the final PCL-based material, the polymer or additives added should be biocompatible and biodegradable.
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