Electrospinning process control for fiber-structured poly(Bisphenol A-co-Epichlorohydrin) membrane

Abstract

Porous and fiber structures are utilized to create lightweight materials for many applications. Poly(bisphenol A-co-epichlorohydrin) PBE or phenoxy resin is a widely used thermoplastic resin in thermoplastic, blends, and polymer matrices. In this article, PBE was selected as a model thermoplastic to fabricate a porous membrane with suitable structure and properties through an electrospinning process. The morphology of the electrospun membrane was effectively controlled by adjusting solution concentration and solvent composition and regulating acceleration potential, while keeping the solution feed rate and tip-to-collector distance at specific values. It was observed that the elastic modulus and tensile strength of the obtained porous PBE membranes were dependent on structure and form. With consistent fiber morphology, the research process obtained a relatively high elastic modulus, tensile strength, and density at 9.125±2.573 GPa, 1.260±0.195 MPa, and 0.420±0.056 g/cm3, respectively. Thermal analysis showed insignificant differences in the thermal stability between the electrospun samples and raw materials.

Keywords

• electrospinning
• fiber
• poly(bisphenol a-co-epichlorohydrin)
• porous membrane
• thermoplastic
• structure property
• mechanical property