Factors Influencing the Morphology of Cellulose Acetate Electrospun Fiber Mats

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of solvent composition, spinning rate and spinning time on the morphology of electrospun cellulose acetate (CA) fiber mats. To fabricate the fibers, 17 %w/v CA solutions prepared in the solvent consisting of acetone/N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) at the ratios of 2:1, 1:1 and 1:2 (v/v) were subjected to electrospinning process under the constant electric field of 1.17 kV/cm. Scanning electron microscope imaging revealed that different morphologies of fibers obtained were bead-free fibers, fibers with spherical beads, and fibers with spindles, when the acetone/DMAc ratios of 2:1, 1:1 and 1:2 were used, respectively. In the aspect of spinning rate, it was found that the diameter of electrospun CA fibers, spindles or beads increased with the increasing spinning rate from 0.2 to 1 ml h-1. In addition, the thickness of electrospun CA fiber mats was directly proportional to the spinning time from 2 to 6 h and spinning rate. Interestingly, by using the same spinning time and rate, the bead-free fiber mats were thicker than mats containing fiber with spherical beads or with spindles. These findings provide useful information for the selection of suitable electrospinning parameters in order to obtain the fiber mat with desired characteristics for the intended purpose.