OPTIMIZATION OF POLYMER CONCENTRATION AND ELECTROSPINNING PARAMETERS TO DEVELOP A NANOFIBROUS MEMBRANE

Introduction

Electrospinning is an electrohydrodynamic process that produces ultrathin fibers which get oriented randomly in a plate collector to form a nanofibrous membrane. The nanofibrous membrane has a wide range of applications, including the biomedical and food sectors.

Materials

The food-grade polymers such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polysulfone (PS), polycaprolactone (PCL), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) were selected and optimized the concentration with the respective dissolve solvents. The spinning parameters were optimized, including voltage, flow rate, distance between the collector and needle, speed of the plate, and spinneret.

Results and conclusion

The different ratios of PTFE and dissolvable agents do not exist with the characteristics required for electrospinning. Though it has good dissolvability, it does not form a membrane during electrospinning. Similarly, the PS was optimized to form an emulsion with a 50:50 (Ν, Ν' - dimethylformamide: acetone), and the polymer formed a cotton-like fibrous beaded membrane. The PCL formed a non-beaded nanofibrous membrane when optimized with a solvent ratio of 70:30 (chloroform: ethanol). The membrane was strengthened by spinning with 3 needles at the same time, with the optimized electrospinning parameters and the membrane had an average fiber diameter of 1.5 µm and an average pore diameter of 3 µm. The developed membrane is recommended to use in beverage applications, for instance, fruit juice filtration, concentration and clarification.