Long-term Photo-degradation of Nanofibrous Composites Based on Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Electrospun Fibers Loaded with Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

Abstract

Composite mats based on submicron biopolyester fibers, such as poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)s, and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles have been exploited in medicine and environmental areas, as antibacterial wound dressings or filters. Generally, the resulting mats have to be subjected to UV irradiation in order to promote the formation of reactive oxygen species, thus activating the antimicrobial or photocatalytic effect of ZnO. Therefore, investigation related to the influence of ZnO on poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)s photo-degradation is required. In this context, the present paper addresses the long-term photo-degradation of nanofibrous poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)/ZnO composites derived from two complementary electro-hydrodynamic techniques, namely electrospinning or electrospinning/electrospraying tandem processes. A thorough investigation of the as-obtained PHB/ZnO fibrous composites implying the utilization of ATR-FTIR, SEC, and SEM analysis pre- and post-aging under UV irradiation (313 nm) for a period of time of 500 h to study the effect of electro-hydrodynamic technique utilized and the ZnO content on the UV shielding properties of PHB mats.