Development of an electrospinning method for the tensile testing of single nanofibers

Abstract

Nanofibers are expected to be widely used in many applications, such as filters, catalyst supports and scaffolds. The electrospinning process is an easy method by which to produce nanofibers from polymer solutions or melts. For the use of electrospun nanofibers, the mechanical characterization of single nanofibers should be investigated. However, few researches for the mechanical testing of a single nanofiber have been conducted. The mechanical characterization of a single nanofiber is difficult because of the difficultly of measuring the small load and handling a single nanofiber. To overcome these issues, it is necessary to spin single nanofibers for the tensile testing of single nanofibers. Poly(lactic acid)(PLLA), whose melting point is about 180°C, has high mechanical properties in biodegradable plastics. However, its melting point is not high enough in some applications. A stereocomplex-type PLA(SCPLA) blending of PLLA and PDLA has a melting point of 230°C, which is about 50°C higher than that of PLLA. In this study, an electrospinning method for the tensile testing of single nanofibers is developed using the electrical potentials difference between two Cu strips of target. The tensile testing of a single nanofiber was successfully conducted using a nanoscale tensile testing machine. The tensile strength of a single SCPLA nanofiber fabricated by the electrospinning was 223±75 MPa. © 2010 WIT Press.