Electrospinning of PCL/natural rubber blends

In this study, a thermoplastic/elastomeric binary blend of non-vulcanized natural rubber (NR) and polycaprolactone (PCL) was electrospun using polymer solutions consisting of varying proportions of PCL and NR. Specifically, an 8 % (w/v) NR/toluene solution was mixed with an 8 % (w/v) PCL/chloroform...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of materials science 2013-12, Vol.48 (24), p.8501-8508
Main Authors: Costa, Ligia Maria Manzine, Mattoso, Luiz Henrique Capparelli, Ferreira, Mariselma
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical materials
Blends
Calorimetry
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemistry and Materials Science
Chloroform
Classical Mechanics
Crystallography and Scattering Methods
Elastomers
Electrospinning
Fibers
Materials Science
Mats
Mechanical properties
Miscibility
Modulus of elasticity
Morphology
Natural rubber
Polycaprolactone
Polymer blends
Polymer Sciences
Scanning electron microscopy
Solid Mechanics
Stability analysis
Strain
Tensile tests
Thermal analysis
Thermal stability
Toluene
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Summary:In this study, a thermoplastic/elastomeric binary blend of non-vulcanized natural rubber (NR) and polycaprolactone (PCL) was electrospun using polymer solutions consisting of varying proportions of PCL and NR. Specifically, an 8 % (w/v) NR/toluene solution was mixed with an 8 % (w/v) PCL/chloroform solution at proportions of 2, 15, 30, and 50 % (v/v). The morphological, thermal, and mechanical properties of the electrospun mats were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry, and uniaxial tensile tests. The SEM images demonstrated the production of micrometer- and sub-micrometer-sized fibers with no bead formation. Fibers with diameters ranging from 1.3 μm for samples with 0 % NR to 210 nm for samples containing 50 % NR were observed. Fibers with rough and smooth morphologies were observed, showing that the PCL/NR mats had phase-separated. The blend miscibility was evaluated by thermal analysis, which showed that blending did not improve the thermal stability of the systems. An investigation of the mechanical properties of the electrospun mats showed that adding NRL to the blend increased the tensile modulus, the ultimate elasticity, and the strain. Thus, non-vulcanized NR was successfully incorporated into electrospun mats, which exhibited useful mechanical properties that could be harnessed in biomaterials applications.
ISSN:0022-2461
1573-4803
DOI:10.1007/s10853-013-7667-0