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Morphologies and crystal structures of styrene–acrylonitrile/isotactic polypropylene ultrafine fibers fabricated by melt electrospinning
Author(s) -
Cao Li,
Dong Mu,
Zhang Anyang,
Liu Yong,
Yang Weimin,
Su Zhiqiang,
Chen Xiaog
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.23515
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , microfiber , electrospinning , tacticity , polypropylene , differential scanning calorimetry , annealing (glass) , crystallization , scanning electron microscope , copolymer , fiber , polymer , chemical engineering , polymerization , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
Ultrafine fibers or fiber web is an attractive material for its high aspect ratio or porous structure which is welcomed in various applications. In this study, ultrafine fibers (5–10 μm) of styrene–acrylonitrile (SAN) copolymer/isotactic polypropylene (iPP) blends were produced by melt electrospinning, SAN acted as a polymeric nucleating agent (PNA) in iPP fibers. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and polarized optical microscopy were used to investigate the morphologies and the crystal structures of SAN/iPP electrospun fibers. The results showed that SAN/iPP melt formed microfibers with different morphologies and crystallinities through electrostatic stretching. The morphological distribution of SAN in iPP fibers depended on the SAN content, and the distribution influenced its nucleating activity and the final crystal structure of SAN/iPP electrospun fibers. After annealing treatment, the molecular chains of iPP in the confined SAN/iPP microfibers disorientated and rearranged, leading to the formation of a mixture of α‐ and γ‐crystal forms. The relative amount of the γ‐crystal form depended on PNA's concentration, annealing temperature and annealing time. Melt electrospun iPP fibers prepared in this study were collected as fiber webs that can be used for protective clothing material, filtration media, reinforcement for composites, and so on. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 53:2674–2682, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers