Electrospinning of nylon-6,6 solutions into nanofibers: rheology and morphology relationships

Abstract

The relationship between the rheological properties of nylon-6,6 solutions and the morphology of their electrospun nanofibers was established. The viscosity of nylon-6,6 in formic acid (90%) was measured in the concentration range of 5 wt%–25 wt% using a programmable viscometer. Electrospinning of nylon-6,6 solutions was carried out under controlled parameters. The chemical structure, morphology and thermal properties of the obtained nanofibers were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. Entanglement concentration (c e) was found to be 15 wt% and a power law relationship between specific viscosity and solution concentration was observed with exponents of 2.0 and 3.3 for semi-dilute unentangled (c < c e) and semi-dilute entangled (c > c e) regimes, respectively. The diameter and uniformity of the nanofibers were found to be dependent on the viscosity. Moreover, the average diameter of electrospun nanofibers was found to be dependent on zero shear rate viscosity and normalized concentration (c/c e) in a power law relationship with exponents of 0.298 and 0.816, respectively. For nylon-6,6 solutions, the entanglement concentration (c e = 15 wt%) provides the threshold viscosity required for the formation of a stable polymeric jet during electrospinning and producing uniform beadless fibers. For concentrations less than c e, beaded fibers with some irregularities are formed. DSC analysis showed an increase in crystallinity of all electrospun samples compared to original polymer. Furthermore, Based on FTIR spectroscopy, α phase is dominant in electrospun nanofibers and minor amount of β and γ phases is also available.