Effects of surface modification of β-CaSiO3 on electrospun poly(butylene succinate)/β-CaSiO3 composite fibers

In this experiment, pure PBSU fibers, PBSU/12.5% β-CaSiO3, and PBSU/25% β-CaSiO3 composite fibers were fabricated by electrospinning. In order to investigate the effects of surface modification of β-CaSiO3 on composite fibers, β-CaSiO3 nanowires were surface esterified using dodecyl alcohol. SEM micrographs showed that composite materials with modified β-CaSiO3 have homogeneous fibrous structures similar as that of pure PBSU fibers, while the fibers containing unmodified β-CaSiO3 were inhomogeneous and much larger in diameter, and also junctions where β-CaSiO3 agglomerated could be found. Mechanical testing showed that with the addition of unmodified β-CaSiO3 into PBSU matrix, the tensile strength of fibrous materials decreased obviously, and the decrease degree increased with increased β-CaSiO3 content. However, the tensile stresses of composite materials after surface modification of β-CaSiO3 turned back and increased about 40% compared to those containing unmodified β-CaSiO3. All of these results suggested surface modification of β-CaSiO3 was an effective approach to obtain composite fibrous materials with better morphologies and enhanced mechanical properties, and this method is supposed to be feasible in other fibrous material systems.