Enhancing the Mechanical Properties of Electrospun Nanofiber Mats through Controllable Welding at the Cross Points

• Published in: Macromolecular rapid communications. Vol. 38; no. 9; pp. 1600723 - n/a
• Main Authors: Li, Haoxuan, Zhu, Chunlei, Xue, Jiajia, Ke, Qinfei, Xia, Younan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.05.2017
• Subjects: Dichloromethane; Electrospinning; Mechanical Phenomena; Mechanical properties; Nanofibers; Nanofibers - chemistry; Nanofibers - standards; Partial pressure; Polycaprolactone; Pore size; Solvents; Welding; welding; electrospinning; mechanical properties; nanofibers
• ISSN: 1022-1336; 1521-3927
• DOI: 10.1002/marc.201600723

This communication describes a simple and effective method for welding electrospun nanofibers at the cross points to enhance the mechanical properties of their nonwoven mats. The welding is achieved by placing a nonwoven mat of the nanofibers in a capped vial with the vapor of a proper solvent. For polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers, the solvent is dichloromethane (DCM). The welding can be managed in a controllable fashion by simply varying the partial pressure of DCM and/or the exposure time. Relative to the pristine nanofiber mat, the mechanical strength of the welded PCL nanofiber mat can be increased by as much as 200%. Meanwhile, such a treatment does not cause any major structural changes, including morphology, fiber diameter, and pore size. This study provides a generic method for improving the mechanical properties of nonwoven nanofiber mats, holding great potential in various applications. A simple and versatile method is developed to improve the mechanical properties of electrospun nanofiber mats by welding the nanofibers at their cross points. Such a treatment does not induce significant structural changes, including the average diameter of the fibers and pore size.