(331ah) Electrospinning of Poly(ε-caprolactone) Clay Nanocomposites

Nanocomposite fibers of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) with various loadings of organically modified montmorillonite were fabricated by electrospinning. Dispersion of the clay nanoparticles was achieved by the solution intercalation technique in order to increase the polymer stiffness. The effect of the applied voltage, the solution concentration and the clay content of the nanocomposite materials on the final fibrous structure was investigated. The results showed that the incorporation of the inorganic filler and the increase of the applied voltage facilitated the formation of fine fibers with fewer bead defects. The nanoclay presence resulted in narrower fiber size distributions, although the mean fiber diameter was not significantly altered. The increase of the solution concentration led to the formation of more uniform fiber structures, and to a slight increase of the mean fiber diameter. Furthermore, the electrospinning process affected significantly the structure of the nanocomposite material by expanding the basal spacing of the organomodified montmorillonite.