Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Oxidized Starch Fibres via Electrospinning Technique: Fabrication and Characterization

Electrospinning technique was developed for the fabrication of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/oxidized starch (OS) fibres with applied voltage of 11 kV and tip-to-collector distance (TCD) of 12 cm. The morphology and structure of the as-prepared fibres were well investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). SEM Photographs indicated that the morphology and diameter of the fibres were clearly affected by weight ratio of PVA/OS and its solution concentration. By lowering the weight ratio of PVA/OS and the solution concentration, the average diameter of fibres was dropped. When the weight ratio of PVA/OS was below 1:3, the fibres were irregular and interspersed with shuttle-shape beads. In this respect, the lower the weight ratio the more beads were formed. When the solution concentration (weight ratio of PVA/OS 1:2) was below 18% (by weight), the fibres were uneven and interspersed with shuttle-shape, and again the lower the concentration, led to more beads formation. It may be noted that, the electrospinning process was hard to be performed for the solution concentration above 20% (by weight). The FTIR tests implied that hydrogen bonds were formed between the molecular OS and PVA in the PVA/OS fibres. XRD Patterns showed that the blending with OS or high-voltage electrostatic field during electrospinning destroyed PVA crystallinity. The DSC tests showed that the Tg of the PVA/OS fibres was lowered and so did the thermal stability with increased OS content. The PVA/OS fibres may be used in tissue engineering, wound dressing, drug delivery as a new potential material because of its non-toxic, solubility and biodegradability.