Morphology of electrospun PVA nanofibers as affected by polymer hydrolysis degree and the solution properties

JHONATAN CIMADORO; LAURA RIBBA; ALEX LOPEZ CORDOBA; SILVIA GOYANES

Buenos Aires

Workshop; II Workshop on Bio-degradable Polymers and Biocomposites; 2015

ITPN

Electrospinning is a technique that allows fiber formation, with diameters from several micrometers to a few nanometers. The most important parameters that control the electrospinning process are: the polymer molecular weight and its degree of hydrolysis (DH), the solution properties (e.g. viscosity, surface tension and conductivity), the instrument parameters (e.g. electric voltage, the needle-collector distance and solution flow rate) and the environmental conditions. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is a highly hydrophilic and biocompatible polymer which is obtained from the hydrolysis of poly(vinyl acetate). It is well known that the properties of PVA are strongly affected by its DH. In this work we study the influence of both the DH and the solutions properties of PVA on the morphology of the fibers obtained by electrospinning.