Preparation, Properties and Water Dissolution Behavior of Polyethylene Oxide Mats Prepared by Solution Blow Spinning Articles uri icon

publication date

  • April 2022

start page

  • 1299

end page

  • 1318

issue

  • 7

volume

  • 14

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 2073-4360

abstract

  • The relationship between processing conditions, structure and morphology are key issues
    to understanding the final properties of materials. For instance, in the case of polymers to be
    used as scaffolds in tissue engineering, wound dressings and membranes, morphology tuning is
    essential to control mechanical and wettability behaviors. In this work, the relationship between
    the processing conditions of the solution blow spinning process (SBS) used to prepare nonwoven
    mats of polyethylene oxide (PEO), and the structure and morphology of the resulting materials are
    studied systematically, to account for the thermal and mechanical behaviors and dissolution in water.
    After finding the optimal SBS processing conditions (air pressure, feed rate, working distance and
    polymer concentration), the effect of the solvent composition has been considered. The structure and
    morphology of the blow spun fibers are studied as well as their thermal, mechanical behaviors and
    dissolution in water. We demonstrate that the morphology of the fibers (size and porosity) changes
    with the solvent composition, which is reflected in different thermal and mechanical responses and in
    the dissolution rates of the materials in water.

subjects

  • Chemistry
  • Materials science and engineering

keywords

  • solution blow spinning; polyethylene oxide; morphology; materials characterization; polymer dissolution