Spot laser melt electrospinning of a fiber bundle composed of poly(lactide)/poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) pie wedge fibers

• Published in: Journal of applied polymer science Vol. 125; no. S2; pp. E384 - E389
• Main Authors: Shimada, Naoki, Ogata, Nobuo, Nakane, Koji, Ogihara, Takashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 25.09.2012; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Alcohols; bicomponent fiber; Bundles; Bundling; Electrospinning; Fibers; laser melting; Materials science; melt electrospinning; Melts; Polymers; Reproduction; Wedges
• ISSN: 0021-8995; 1097-4628
• DOI: 10.1002/app.36820

The melt‐electrospinning system with a spot‐like carbon dioxide laser melting device was used to form fibers directly from solid‐like polymer rods. Fiber bundles were made from pie wedge fibers comprised of poly(lactide) (PLA) and poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol) (EVOH) by gathering the fibers and twisting them together, and then melt electrospinning was performed for the bundles using the spinning system. Nanofibers with an average fiber diameter of ca. 400 nm were successfully obtained from the bundle by the optimization of manufacturing parameters such as laser output power, voltage, and collector distance. To investigate the morphological structure of the electrospun fibers, each structural component was extracted from the fibers with its solvent. It was found that three types of fibers with different morphology were produced during the melt‐electrospinning process: fibers consisting of only a PLA component, fibers consisting of only an EVOH component, and fibers consisting of a PLA/EVOH mixture. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012