Electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers: effects of degree of hydrolysis and enhanced water stability

The effects of degrees of hydrolysis (DH) on the morphology and diameter of electrospun PVA fibers and also explore the water resistance of electrospun PVA/poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) composite fibers through heat treatment was studied. The poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solution with a DH of 92% was separately prepared by mixing the same weight ratio of two PVA solutions with a DH of 88 and 96%. A high-voltage power supply capable of generating voltages up to 100 kV was used as the source of the electric field. The PVA solutions dissolved in distilled water were supplied through a plastic syringe attached to a capillary tip with an inner diameter of 0.6mm. The distance between the capillary tip and the collector was fixed to be 15cm, and the plastic syringe was placed at an angle of 10° from the horizontal direction. All solutions were electrospun onto a rotating metallic collector at room temperature under identical conditions. It was found that at a constant concentration of PVA solution the average diameter of the electrospun PVA fibers increased with increasing DH.