Mechanical properties of PVA nanofiber textiles with incorporated nanodiamonds, copper and silver ions

Abstract

The unique properties of nanotextiles based on poly(vinyl-alcohol) (PVA) manufactured using the electrospinning method have been known and exploited for many years. Recently, the enrichment of nanofiber textiles with nanoparticles, such as ions or nanodiamond particles (NDP), has become a popular way to modify the textile mechanical, chemical and physical properties of the textile. The aim of our study is to investigate the macromechanical properties of PVA nanotextiles enriched with NDP, silver (Ag) and copper (Cu) ions. Nanofiber textiles of various surface weights were prepared from a 16% PVA solution, while glyoxal and phosphoric acid were used as cross-linking agents. The copper and silver ions were diluted in an aqueous solution and NDP were dispersed into the fibers by ultrasound homogenization. All but one of the sets of samples were exposed to a temperature of 140 °C for 10 minutes. The samples without thermal stabilization exhibited significantly lower elastic stiffness and tensile strength. Moreover, the results of tensile testing indicate that the addition of dispersed nanoparticles has a minor effect on the mechanical properties of the textiles and contributes rather to their reinforcement. However, the lack of thermal stabilization results in a poor interconnection of individual nanofiber layers, and the non-stabilized textiles exhibit lower elastic stiffness and reduced tensile strength.