Preparation of poly(ε-caprolactone)/poly(trimethylene carbonate) blend nanofibers by electrospinning

Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) blend nanofibers have been prepared for the first time using an electrospinning process. The mixed dichloromethane (DCM) and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) (75/25, v/v) was found to be the most suitable solvent for electrospinning. Various blends of PCL/PTMC solutions were investigated for the formation of nano-scale fibers and it was found that the average diameter of the fibers was reduced and the morphology became finer when PTMC content was increased. FT-IR and DSC analysis indicated that the molecular interactions between PCL and PTMC were weak and they were phase-separated in the fibers. Due to the biocompatible properties of PCL and PTMC, the spun nanofibers developed here could have applications in the biomedical field.