Abstract
Water soluble proteins extracted from Moringa stenopetala seeds were investigated as potential natural polymer for electrospinning of nanofibers after blending with poly (vinyl) alcohol (PVA). Good quality blended nanofibers were obtained using 10% (w/v) protein/PVA solution in 3% formic acid, 15 kV, 12.5 cm tip to collector distance and a flow rate of 5 μl min−1. Under these optimum conditions blended nanofibers with average diameter of 232.87 ± 59.35 nm were obtained. The functional groups, surface morphology, crystallinity, surface charge and thermal stability of the protein/PVA nanofibers were evaluated using FTIR, FT-Raman, SEM, XRD, zeta potential and TGA. The SEM images of the nanofibers showed a uniform dispersion in the polymer matrix. The morphology and diameter of the nanofibers were mainly affected by the concentration of the blend solution and weight ratio of the blend. The FTIR and FT-Raman characterization results show amine and amide functional groups as predominant groups on the protein/PVA nanofibers. Furthermore the characterization results of XRD, zeta potential and TGA confirms that protein/PVA nanofiber is amorphous with a zwitterionic surface charge and thermal stability up to the 170 °C. The stability of blended nanofibers in water showed promising results for their application in various environmental waters.
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