Mechanical behaviour of MWCNTs reinforced electrospun nanofibres

Abstract

The nanoscale dimension of electrospun polymeric nanofibres produced by electrospinning are highly captivating, yet facing limitation of resisting external forces due to the weak tensile properties. Carbon nanotubes providing tremendous toughness due to extraordinary strong sp2 bonding network of carbon atoms in honeycomb lattice structure, augmented the physical resistant strength and is easily recover to its original state after load is removed. This study reports the performance of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as filler in the electrospinning of poly (L-lactide)-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) composite nanofibres. Voltage of 10 kV is applied to the spinning solution mixture of 11 wt% (w/v) PLCL and MWCNTs, yielded nanofibres having diameters less than 400 nm. Results obtained showed the formation of composite nanofibres with tailored tensile behavior by modifying the content of MWCNTs. The addition of MWCNTs improved the tensile properties of resultant composite nanofibres, signified by tensile strength of 5.82 to 15.95 MPa, which were obtained using 0.1 to 1.0 wt% of MWCNTs. The structural integrity of nanofibres mats were retained in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) medium. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) micrographs revealed the minimal of fiber deformation over 30 days of incubation and are closely identical to the initial diameter of as-spun fiber.