Use of experimental design to obtain polymeric microfibers with carbon nanotubes

Abstract

The production of polymeric fibers by the electrospinning technique stands out as being simple, accessible, versatile and with potential use of polymer microfibers in many areas of science and technology. In this article, polymeric microfibers of PBAT/PLA and carbon nanotubes were obtained using a Fractional Factorial Design. The statistical results, the optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the addition of MWCNT’s had an influence in the diameter of the fibers (1.16 ± 0.22 µm), so that its incorporation decreased the value of the diameter, also they were more uniform and homogeneous. Besides, the MWCNT’s provided the fibers a better mechanical resistance, probably being inside the fibers, as well as showed in the analysis of wettability by contact angle.

Keywords

• electrospinning
• nanotechnology
• composite
• microfiber