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Title: | Fabrication of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) Fibers Using Centrifugal Fiber Spinning: Structure, Properties and Application Potential | Authors: | VANHEUSDEN, Chris Vanminsel, Jan ETHIRAJAN, Anitha REDDY, Naveen PEETERS, Roos D'HAEN, Jan BUNTINX, Mieke SAMYN, Pieter |
Advisors: | Buntinx, Mieke | Issue Date: | 2023 | Publisher: | MDPI | Source: | POLYMERS, 15 (5) (Art N° 1181) | Abstract: | Biobased and biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are currently gaining momentum. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBHHx) polymer has a useful processing window for extrusion and injection molding of packaging, agricultural and fishery applications with required flexibility. Processing PHBHHx into fibers using electrospinning or centrifugal fiber spinning (CFS) can further broaden the application area, although CFS remains rather unexplored. In this study, PHBHHx fibers are centrifugally spun from 4-12 wt.% polymer/chloroform solutions. Beads and beads-on-a-string (BOAS) fibrous structures with an average diameter (ϕav) between 0.5 and 1.6 µm form at 4-8 wt.% polymer concentrations, while more continuous fibers (ϕav = 3.6-4.6 µm) with few beads form at 10-12 wt.% polymer concentrations. This change is correlated with increased solution viscosity and enhanced mechanical properties of the fiber mats (strength, stiffness and elongation values range between 1.2-9.4 MPa, 11-93 MPa, and 102-188%, respectively), though the crystallinity degree of the fibers remains constant (33.0-34.3%). In addition, PHBHHx fibers are shown to anneal at 160 °C in a hot press into 10-20 µm compact top-layers on PHBHHx film substrates. We conclude that CFS is a promising novel processing technique for the production of PHBHHx fibers with tunable morphology and properties. Subsequent thermal post-processing as a barrier or active substrate top-layer offers new application potential. | Keywords: | centrifugal fiber spinning;fiber annealing;fiber morphology;poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate);polyhydroxyalkanoates;top-layer | Document URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1942/39890 | DOI: | 10.3390/polym15051181 | ISI #: | 000947938600001 | Rights: | 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). | Category: | A1 | Type: | Journal Contribution |
Appears in Collections: | Research publications |
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polymers-15-01181.pdf | Published version | 4.06 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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