Premium
Revealing the Hierarchical Mechanical Strength of Single Cellulose Acetate Electrospun Filaments through Ultrasonic Breakage
Author(s) -
Avó João,
Fernandes Susete N.,
Godinho Maria H.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.201500087
Subject(s) - ultimate tensile strength , materials science , breakage , sonication , composite material , fiber , cellulose , cellulose acetate , chemical engineering , engineering
The tensile strength of single cellulose acetate electrospun fibers is determined through sonication‐induced fragmentation in water using a model previously developed by Terentjev and co‐workers. The fragmentation of the electrospun fibers results in a gradual shortening of their length until a constant modal length is achieved. A single electrospun CA fiber tensile strength of ≈150 MPa (55–280 MPa) is determined based on fracture statistics. It is also observed that the fragmented fibers show bunches of nanofilaments at their ends with similar diameters to those of round structures observed in the cross‐section of the initial electrospun fibers (≈38 nm). The sonication of these nanofilaments gives rise to spherical particles with similar diameter dimensions, which allows the estimation of a value of the tensile strength of the order of 2 MPa for these nanostructures. The aggregation and the alignment of the nano filaments inside the electrospun fiber should be the source of its higher strength value.