ENHANCED MECHANICAL AND THERMAL PROPERTIES OF ELECTROSPUN CELLULOSE ACETATE FIBER MEMBRANES INCORPORATING PAHAE NATURAL ZEOLITE

Abstract

In recent decades, fiber membranes have garnered significant attention and found numerous applications across various fields. This work used the electrospinning method to create fiber membranes with cellulose acetate (CA) as a primary polymer material. The characteristics of the fiber membrane, such as mechanical and thermal properties, were investigated by incorporating Pahae Natural Zeolite (PNZ) microparticles into the CA matrix. The fiber membranes' mechanical properties are improved by adding PNZ to the CA matrix, and the CA/PNZ 10% exhibits the maximum tensile strength of 0.97 MPa and elongation at a break of 4.52%. Meanwhile, incorporating PNZ filler into CA fiber membranes significantly enhances their thermal stability. This improvement is attributed to the formation of hydrogen bonds between CA and PNZ, as evidenced by the increasing residue values with higher PNZ content. Specifically, the residue of pure CA membrane fiber is 13.46%, which increases to 44.06% for CA/PNZ 15% fiber membranes. These favorable thermal and mechanical properties of the fiber membranes indicate the promising potential of CA/PNZ based membranes for filtration applications.