MORPHOLOGY OF ELECTROSPUN PVA NANOFIBERS AS AFFECTED BY POLYMER HYDROLYS DEGREE AND THE SOLUTION PROPERTIES

JONATHAN CIMADORO; LAURA RIBBA; ALEX LOPEZ-CORDOBA; SILVIA GOYANES

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

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 [1]. 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 [2]. 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.