In-situ formation of polyvinylidene fluoride microspheres within polycaprolactone electrospun mats

This study discusses the manufacture of hierarchical composite membranes via the combination of electrospinning and vapour-induced phase separation (VIPS). The fabrication approach here proposed makes possible the in situ generation of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) spherical microparticles within electrospun nonwoven mats of polycaprolactone (PCL) fibres. Morphological investigations of the PCL-PVDF membranes show that the PVDF microspheres are distributed within the whole volume of the electrospun mats and, depending on the PVDF concentration used for the VIPS process, they can form permanent joints between fibres. Consequently, the fibre-particle systems exhibit increased Young's modulus and tensile strength (up to 1.7-fold increase) if compared to PCL electrospun mats, while maintaining a porous structure. The results of this study provide a new platform for the development of fibres-based systems that find application as scaffolds for tissue engineering, drug delivery devices, filtration elements for water, wastewater and air treatment.

这项研究讨论了通过静电纺丝和蒸汽诱导相分离（VIPS）的组合制造多层复合膜。这里提出的制造方法使得在聚己内酯（PCL）纤维的电纺非织造垫内原位产生聚偏二氟乙烯（PVDF）球形微粒成为可能。对PCL-PVDF膜的形态学研究表明，PVDF微球分布在电纺垫的整个体积内，并且取决于VIPS工艺中所用的PVDF浓度，它们可以在纤维之间形成永久性接头。因此，与PCL电纺垫相比，纤维颗粒体系的杨氏模量和拉伸强度提高了（最多增加1.7倍），同时保持了多孔结构。这项研究的结果为开发基于纤维的系统提供了一个新平台，该系统可以用作组织工程的支架，药物输送装置，水，废水和空气处理的过滤元件。

Published:2020

Journal ：PROGRESS IN POLYMER SCIENCE

Impact Factor：23.284

Paper link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0032386119310936