Properties of poly(lactic acid) and poly(ethylene oxide) solvent polymer mixtures and nanofibers made by solution blow spinning

The properties of mixtures of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) were studied in polymer solutions by dilute solution viscometry, and in-solution blow-spun nanofibers were studied by microscopy (scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy) and thermal and spectral analysis. Three mixtures of PLA and PEO (3:1, 1:1, and 1:3) were solution-blended in chloroform. Dilute solvent viscometry indicated that the 3:1 mixture of PLA and PEO had a higher miscibility coefficient value than the other mixtures. The neat polymers and mixtures were solution-blow-spun into nanofibers. The fiber diameters were smallest in the neat polymers. Transmission electron micrographs revealed a core/sheath structure for the sample mixtures. X-ray analysis indicated that the crystallinity was positively correlated with the PEO content. Fibers from the mixtures had contact angle measurements similar to those of the neat PEO. Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy of the mixtures indicated interactions between ester and ether groups, which were attributed to dipole-dipole interactions between the ester groups of PLA and the ether groups of PEO. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013