Abstract
Wool keratin/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) blend nanofibers were fabricated using the electrospinning method in formic acid solutions with different weight ratios of keratin to PVA. The resultant blend nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and tensile test. SEM images showed that the diameter of the blend nanofibers was affected by the content of keratin in blend solution. FTIR and XRD analyses data demonstrated that there were good interactions between keratin and PVA in the blended nanofibers caused by possibly hydrogen bonds. The TGA study revealed that the thermal stability of the blend nanofibers was between those of keratin and PVA. Tensile test indicated that the addition of PVA was able to improve the mechanical properties of the electrospun nanofibers.
Highlights
In recent years, electrospinning has drawn much attention because it is an easy, versatile, and low cost technique to fabricate nanofibers
Compared with other proteins, wool keratin contains a large amount of cystine, which accounts for 7–20% of the total amino acids [12]
Compared to the solutions rich in wool keratin, the solutions with a higher percentage of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) showed a greater change in viscosity with increasing shear rate and had stronger non-Newtonian nature
Summary
In recent years, electrospinning has drawn much attention because it is an easy, versatile, and low cost technique to fabricate nanofibers. Compared with other proteins (e.g., fibroin and gelatin), wool keratin contains a large amount of cystine, which accounts for 7–20% of the total amino acids [12]. Wool keratin is difficultly electrospun into nanofibers because of its low molecular weight and brittle property. Some of the literature has reported the electrospinning of the blend of wool keratin with poly(ethylene oxide) [17], silk fibroin [18], polyamide 6 [19], and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) [20]. The blend of wool keratin and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was fabricated into nanofibers by electrospinning. The purpose of the use of PVA as an additive was to improve the processability of wool keratin and to enhance the mechanical properties of the blend nanofiber mats. The morphologies, structures, thermal stability, and mechanical properties of the blend nanofibers were investigated and correlated with the keratin/PVA blend ratios with the aim of highlighting the effect of the blend ratios on the structures and properties of nanofibers
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