Effects of Molecular Weight and Temperature on Fiber Diameter of Poly(ε-caprolactone) Melt Electrospun Fiber

Abstract

The 14k, 45k, and 70k Mw PCL have different crystallization temperatures and therefore have slightly different characteristics affecting the fiber diameter. To observe these behaviors, the fiber was produced at every step of 10oC for each molecular weights and the diameter was measured. Moreover, the fiber was fabricated over the cooled ground plate to observe the change in fiber diameter in comparison to the normal ground plate. In case of molecular Mw 14k PCL, the diameter increased as the temperature increased. For Mw 45k PCL, the fiber diameter decreased as the temperature increased. As of Mw 70k PCL, the fiber diameter decreased with increasing temperature as well. When the experiment was conducted over the cooled collector plate, the data did not change significantly from the previous lexperiments.