Electrospun non-woven membrane of poly(ethylene covinyl alcohol) end-capped with potassium sulfonate

Abstract

Electrospinning is a technique used to produce micron to submicron diameter polymeric fibers. The low density of electrospun fibers is important when considering end-use applications as use on filtration material and lightweight wings for micro-air vehicles (MAV). A polymer of poly(ethylene covinyl alcohol) end-capped with sulfonate (EVOH-g-PSN) is synthesized by sulfonification of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) (EVOH) with 1,3-propane sultone (PSN) and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The polymer is soluble in water when the ratio of hydroxyl in EVOH versus PSN is more than 2.5 and insoluble in water when the ratio is less than 2.5. The EVOH-g-PSN non-woven membrane is prepared by electrospinning and the morphology of the membrane is examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to identify any conformational changes that occur due to electrospinning voltage. The molar ratio of sulfur/potassium on the EVOH-g-PSN non-woven membranes were determined using a point scanning analysis with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS). The EDS result show that the S/K molar ratios is almost equal to 1.0 indicating that the element of sulfur and potassium in the polymer could exist as the –SO 3K. The SEM shows that the high voltage makes the beaded filaments get into finer fibers.