Electrospinning Water Dispersible Polymers
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Date
2008-05-13
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Abstract
Water-based electrospinning systems are important not only for environmental reasons, but also for toxicity reasons in biomedical applications such as drug delivery systems where residual solvent may be dangerous. However, very few polymers are water soluble.
A method of electrospinning water dispersible polymers using a water soluble polymer as the template has been determined. The primary water dispersible polymer is a sulfonated co-polyester with an average 1.27 weight percent sulfur added to the backbone. Low percentages of an ionic species can be added to the polymer backbone to create water dispersibility without making the polymer water soluble. Such, polymers are known as ionomers and posses very unique behaviors.
This work examines the solution behavior of this particular ionomer. Most of the characterization focuses upon the viscosity as a function of shear rate. Conductivity and surface tension are also examined. The results of experiments in electrospinning this co-PET with two different water soluble template polymers, poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(vinyl alcohol) is discussed as well.
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Keywords
ionomers, viscosity, template, electrospinning, water dispersible
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Degree
MS
Discipline
Textile Chemistry
