Electrospinning of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Nanofiber Mats Reinforced by Lignocellulose Nanowhiskers

Soft Materials 2015
Anna Šutka, Jānis Grāvītis, Silvija Kukle, Andris Šutka, Martin Timusk

This article reports on electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) modification with lignocellulose nanowhiskers (LCNWs) produced from hemp shives without using harsh preparation steps. LCNWs were obtained by using steam explosion (SE) pretreatment, ball milling, and ultrasonication. Formation of LCNWs was confirmed by atomic force microscopy. Obtained LCNWs were used to modify the mechanical properties of electrospun PVA nanofibers. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy analyses provided clear evidence of the presence of cellulose nanowhiskers in the PVA/LCNW electrospun mats. It was found that tensile stress at break increases more than fivefold for PVA nanofiber mats reinforced with LCNWs.

Keywords
Nano composites, polymer-matrix composites (PMCs), mechanical properties, nanowhiskers
DOI
10.1080/1539445X.2014.995309
Hyperlink
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1539445X.2014.995309?journalCode=lsfm20

Šutka, A., Grāvītis, J., Kukle, S., Šutka, A., Timusk, M. Electrospinning of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Nanofiber Mats Reinforced by Lignocellulose Nanowhiskers. Soft Materials, 2015, Vol.13, Iss.1, pp.18-23. ISSN 1539-445X. e-ISSN 1539-4468. Available from: doi:10.1080/1539445X.2014.995309

Publication language
English (en)