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Electrospun fibers of poly(ethylene terephthalate) blended with poly(lactic acid)

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Abstract

Fibrous blends of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polylactic acid (PLA) were fabricated by electrospinning (ES) from a common solvent, at concentrations of PET/PLA = 100/0, 70/30, 50/50, 30/70, and 0/100. Oriented fiber mats were studied either as-spun, or after a cold-crystallization treatment. Scanning electron microscopy of as-spun amorphous fibers showed that addition of PLA into the ES solution prevents occurrence of beads. In some compositions, two glass transitions were observed by temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry indicating that the two components in the ES fibers were phase separated. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to study thermal degradation at high temperatures. PLA degrades at a temperature about 100 °C lower than that of PET, and holding or cycling the blends to high temperature can result in the degradation of PLA. Degree of crystallinity was determined using DSC for as-spun and cold-crystallized ES blend fibers. The degree of crystallinity of each blend component is reduced by the presence of the other blend component, and the overall crystallinity of the blend fibers is less than that of the homopolymer fibers. Wide-angle X-ray scattering results show that oriented crystals were formed in the blended electrospun fibers collected on a rotating collector. The cold-crystallization process leads to both PET and PLA crystallizations. Oriented crystallites form even when the fiber is crystallized with its ends free to shrink.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the National Science Foundation for support through the Polymers Programs of the Division of Materials Research, DMR1206010, and the MRI Program under DMR-0520655 which provided thermal analysis instrumentation. A portion of this research formed the basis for the senior honors thesis of KL. The X-ray scattering analysis was performed at the Brookhaven National Synchrotron Light Source, beam line X27C, supported by the Department of Energy.

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  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Center for Nanoscopic Physics, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA

    Kevin Li, Bin Mao & Peggy Cebe

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  1. Kevin Li
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  2. Bin Mao
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  3. Peggy Cebe
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Correspondence to Peggy Cebe.

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Li, K., Mao, B. & Cebe, P. Electrospun fibers of poly(ethylene terephthalate) blended with poly(lactic acid). J Therm Anal Calorim 116, 1351–1359 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-013-3583-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-013-3583-4

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