Abstract
In recent years, the technique of electrospinning has been used to develop a novel class of micro- and nanoscale materials based on fibrous structures. Several polymers, in particular elastomers, that have been implemented in this process rely on properties such as elasticity, flexibility, biocompatibility, and low cost. Herein, we describe for the first time the electrospinning of natural rubber fibers without polymeric matrix to obtain self-standing non-woven mats and oriented elastomeric fibers. The fibers average diameters were approximately 5.5 µm. Polyaniline (PAni) was deposited on the membrane surface in order to enhance the conductive properties making easy the charge transportation. We have obtained biocompatible and flexible fibrous materials using natural rubber, this research opens up possibilities of using micro and nanofibers of only-natural rubber in many applications including sensors preparation. Keywords: Electrospinning; Fiber technology; Microstructure; Polymer; Sensors.
Highlights
Electrospinning is a process that uses electric fields to produce nonwoven materials with high porosity, large surface area, small diameters, and uniform fibers; there is great industrial and scientific interest in these materials because of their many potential applications [1,2,3], as membranes for drug delivery [4], for tissue engineering [5], for water treatment [6], for food packing applications [7], sensors [8, 9] and others
In particular elastomers, that have been implemented in this process rely on properties such as elasticity, flexibility, biocompatibility, and low cost
We describe for the first time the electrospinning of natural rubber fibers without polymeric matrix to obtain self-standing non-woven mats and oriented elastomeric fibers
Summary
Electrospinning is a process that uses electric fields to produce nonwoven materials with high porosity, large surface area, small diameters, and uniform fibers; there is great industrial and scientific interest in these materials because of their many potential applications [1,2,3], as membranes for drug delivery [4], for tissue engineering [5], for water treatment [6], for food packing applications [7], sensors [8, 9] and others. Silicone rubber [4,17] and synthetic rubbers such as polybutadiene rubber (BR) and polyisobutylene-isoprene rubber (IIR) [11] have been used to produce electrospun fibers containing inorganic fillers such as silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) [11] and a europium (Eu3+)-like luminescent filler [18], more recently fluorescent polymer/acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) blends [19] and epoxidized natural rubber [20] have been studied. Natural rubber (NR) is a unique elastomeric material whose flexibility, biocompatibility, elasticity, and low cost have led to its widespread use [21,22,23,24]. By combining the properties of NR with the electrospinning technique, it is possible to obtain highly flexible fibers and nonwoven porous mats with good mechanical resistance and elasticity. The production of electrospun fibers using only natural rubber has not yet been explored
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