Abstract
This research aims to develop multilayer sandwich-structured electrospun nanofiber (ENF) membranes using biodegradable polymers. Hydrophilic regenerated cellulose (RC) and hydrophobic poly (lactic acid) (PLA)-based novel multilayer sandwich-structures were created by electrospinning on various copper collectors, including copper foil and 30-mesh copper gauzes, to modify the surface roughness for tunable wettability. Different collectors yielded various sizes and morphologies of the fabricated ENFs with different levels of surface roughness. Bead-free thicker fibers were collected on foil collectors. The surface roughness of the fine fibers collected on mesh collectors contributed to an increase in hydrophobicity. An RC-based triple-layered structure showed a contact angle of 48.2°, which is comparable to the contact angle of the single-layer cellulosic fabrics (47.0°). The polar shift of RC membranes on the wetting envelope is indicative of the possibility of tuning the wetting behavior by creating multilayer structures. Wettability can be tuned by creating multilayer sandwich structures consisting of RC and PLA. This study provides an important insight into the manipulation of the wetting behavior of polymeric ENFs in multilayer structures for applications including chemical protective clothing.
Highlights
Surface wettability is one of the most critical considerations in designing membranes for many functional applications, such as liquid separation, fluid control, corrosion protection, anti-fouling surfaces, self-cleaning materials, and protective textiles [1]
The chemical heterogeneity and surface roughness of a real surface presents a multiplicity of local contact angles, metastable states, and hysteresis effects [5]
To be able to capture the metastable states, dynamic contact angle measurements are an advantageous tool for the evaluation of the contact angle, surface free energy (SFE), or wettability
Summary
Surface wettability is one of the most critical considerations in designing membranes for many functional applications, such as liquid separation, fluid control, corrosion protection, anti-fouling surfaces, self-cleaning materials, and protective textiles [1]. Young’s equation is the most widely used technique to evaluate the wettability of a solid surface [2,3]. The static contact angle is determined from the surface energies of the associated solid and liquid, based on the assumption that a chemically homogeneous surface is totally smooth [4]. The wettability is generally low when the total surface energy of the solid surface is low, and the contact angle is high. The chemical heterogeneity and surface roughness of a real surface presents a multiplicity of local contact angles, metastable states, and hysteresis effects [5]. To be able to capture the metastable states, dynamic contact angle measurements are an advantageous tool for the evaluation of the contact angle, surface free energy (SFE), or wettability.
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