Kefiran/poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) composite nanofibers: fabrication, characterization and consideration of effective parameters in electrospinning

Abstract

The kefiran/polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinyl pyrrolidone nanofibers were effectively fabricated for the first time using electrospinning of poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) and kefiran blend solution. The effect of solution parameters, such as kefiran concentration and poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) mixing ratio, were considered. The parameters’ effects, such as voltage, nozzle-to-collector distance and feeding rate on nanofibers morphology, were also checked by the scanning electron microscopy images. After changing the parameters on different steps, designed by the chemo metrics software, the finest nanofibers were produced in the following conditions: 2% kefiran concentration, 30/70 kefiran/polymer mixing ratio, 12 kV voltage, 200 mm needle-to-collector distance and 0.5 (mL/h) polymer injection rate. The nanofibers produced in these conditions were uniform without knots or adhesion in the lowest diameter of 156 nm. Kefiran concentration and kefiran/polymer mixing ratio were found as the most effective parameter in the morphology and diameter size of the nanofibers. The attenuated total reflectance (ATR-Ft-IR), atomic force spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimeters and thermal gravimetric analysis were used to investigate molecular structures, three-dimensional morphology and heating properties of the nanofibers, respectively.