Self-assembly-driven electrospinning:the transition from fibers to intact beaded morphologies


Autoria(s): Wang, Linge; Topham, Paul D.; Mykhaylyk, Oleksandr O.; Yu, Hao; Ryan, Anthony J.; Fairclough, J. Patrick A.; Bras, Wim
Data(s)

2015

Resumo

Polymer beads have attracted considerable interest for use in catalysis, drug delivery, and photo­nics due to their particular shape and surface morphology. Electrospinning, typically used for producing nanofibers, can also be used to fabricate polymer beads if the solution has a sufficiently low concentration. In this work, a novel approach for producing more uniform, intact beads is presented by electrospinning self-assembled block copolymer (BCP) solutions. This approach allows a relatively high polymer concentration to be used, yet with a low degree of entanglement between polymer chains due to microphase separation of the BCP in a selective solvent system. Herein, to demonstrate the technology, a well-studied polystyrene-poly(ethylene butylene)–polystyrene triblock copolymer is dissolved in a co-solvent system. The effect of solvent composition on the characteristics of the fibers and beads is intensively studied, and the mechanism of this fiber-to-bead is found to be dependent on microphase separation of the BCP.

Formato

application/pdf

Identificador

http://eprints.aston.ac.uk/25870/1/Self_assembly_driven_electrospinning.pdf

Wang, Linge; Topham, Paul D.; Mykhaylyk, Oleksandr O.; Yu, Hao; Ryan, Anthony J.; Fairclough, J. Patrick A. and Bras, Wim (2015). Self-assembly-driven electrospinning:the transition from fibers to intact beaded morphologies. Macromolecular rapid communications, Early view ,

Relação

http://eprints.aston.ac.uk/25870/

Tipo

Article

PeerReviewed