Top–down meets bottom–up: A comparison of the mechanical properties of melt electrospun and self-assembled 1,3,5-benzenetrisamide fibers

• Published in: Polymer (Guilford) Vol. 53; no. 25; pp. 5754 - 5759
• Main Authors: Kluge, Daniel, Singer, Julia. C., Neugirg, Benedikt R., Neubauer, Jens W., Schmidt, Hans-Werner, Fery, Andreas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 30.11.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: 1,3,5-Benzenetrisamides; Accessibility; Applied sciences; Atomic force microscopy; Diffraction; Electrospinning; Exact sciences and technology; Fibers; Fibers and threads; Forms of application and semi-finished materials; Melt electrospinning; Melts; Morphology; Polymer industry, paints, wood; Scanning electron microscopy; Self-assembly; Technology of polymers; X-ray diffraction; Self-assembly; 1,3,5-Benzenetrisamides; Melt electrospinning; Self assembly; Synthetic fiber; Electrospinning; Top down method; Mechanical properties; Experimental study; Morphology; Bottom up method; Carboxamide; Benzamide derivatives; Growth from melt; Comparative study; Growth from solution
• ISSN: 0032-3861; 1873-2291
• DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2012.10.016

1,3,5-Benzenetrisamides (BTAs) are a prominent class of low-molecular weight compounds in supramolecular chemistry. They are well-known to self-assemble into micro- and nanofibers in a bottom–up approach. At the same time, BTAs are also suitable for top-down processing by melt electrospinning. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time that both approaches lead to mechanically robust BTA fibers. We compare self-assembled and electrospun fibers of N,N,N″-tripropyl-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxamide on multiple length scales. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals the same crystal structure independently from the preparation method. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), we observe significantly different morphologies of both fiber types on the sub-micron-scale. However, atomic force microscopy (AFM) bending experiments show that despite differences in morphology, Young's modulus is comparable for both types and in the lower GPa range (3–5 GPa). Thus, both top–down and bottom–up techniques with their complementary features in terms of accessible structures and potential applications are available for this class of materials. [Display omitted]