Branched polyethylene glycol/polypropylene micro-nanofiber nonwovens for fast liquid planar transmission

Abstract

The speed of liquid planar transmission plays a key role in engineering applications, including baby wipes, wound dressings, and liquid filtration. This article reported a novel branched nonwoven consisting of melt-blown polyethylene glycol/polypropylene micro- and nanofibers. The formation mechanism of branched structures as well as the liquid planar transmission properties of the prepared polyethylene glycol/polypropylene micro-nanofibrous nonwovens was discussed in detail. The results showed that the diameter of melt-blown fibers could be controlled by changing the percentage of polyethylene glycol (0–15 wt%) and die temperature (230°C–250°C). Furthermore, micro- and nanofibers, which had three types of size: >2 μm, 800 nm–2 μm, and <800 nm, formed a three-level branched network, which greatly improved the liquid planar transmission capacity. This work suggested that the branched micro/nanofiber nonwovens could be employed in a wide range of potential engineering applications.