Electrospinning Nanofiber Mats from Aqueous Polyelectrolyte Solutions

静电纺丝是用于制造由纳米级和微米级直径纤维组成的非织造纤维垫的成熟技术。由于其高孔隙率和表面积，纤维垫是用于医疗、环境和能源应用的有前途的材料。虽然垫已经由超过100种不同的聚合物电纺，但几乎所有关于带电聚合物的电纺的报道都在前体电纺溶液中使用有毒溶剂和/或有毒分子后生产以使垫化学上坚固。该奖项支持基础研究，以开发化学稳定的静电纺丝材料。新的水性前体溶液将使用盐来制备耐热和化学稳定的纤维，而无需使用有毒溶剂、交联剂或后处理。使用绿色化学来制造可以包封诸如小分子化合物的货物的生物垫，将广泛地影响用于广泛应用的多功能纤维支架的设计，包括伤口愈合和活性食品包装。美国的经济和社会将受益于这项研究所带来的更安全材料的生产。除了技术成就，这项研究将教育，提供研究经验，并在化学工程，纤维科学和聚合物物理的新兴界面指导多样化的劳动力。这项研究将带来许多新的研究经验，并加强对妇女和代表性不足的群体的工程教育。由于制造过程对有毒溶剂和/或细胞毒性交联剂的依赖，静电纺非织造纤维毡的全部应用潜力无法实现。这项研究将提供一个关键的翻译之间的处理，结构和性能的水溶液静电纺丝成化学坚固的纤维垫。静电纺丝前体溶液将由复合凝聚层组成，复合凝聚层是由水中带相反电荷的聚合物的静电络合产生的致密的富含聚电解质的液体。研究小组将通过将静电纺丝与模型凝聚层系统的热力学相行为和流变学特性相关联，建立静电纺丝纤维的参数化设计规则。此外，亲水性和疏水性货物到前体溶液和电纺纤维中的分配和负载将被建立为聚电解质和货物的疏水性的函数。化学和热稳定的货物承载纤维垫在绿色材料必不可少的应用中具有巨大的潜力，例如伤口愈合、水修复、催化和食品包装。

Electrospinning is a well-established technique used to manufacture non-woven fiber mats comprised of nano- and micro-scale diameter fibers. Due to their high porosity and surface area, the fiber mats are promising materials for medical, environmental, and energy applications. While mats have been electrospun from over 100 different polymers, nearly all reports on the electrospinning of charged polymers have utilized toxic solvents in the precursor electrospinning solution and/or poisonous molecules post-production to make the mats chemically robust. This award supports fundamental research into the development of chemically robust nanofiber mats electrospun from aqueous polyelectrolyte solutions. The new aqueous precursor solutions will use salt to enable the preparation of thermally and chemically robust fibers without the use of toxic solvents, crosslinkers, or post-processing. Using green chemistry to manufacture polyelectrolyte nanofiber mats that can encapsulate cargo such as small molecule compounds, will broadly impact the design of multifunctional fiber scaffolds for a broad range of applications, including, wound healing and active food packaging. The U.S. economy and society will benefit from the production of safer materials that is enabled by this research. In addition to the technical achievements, this research will educate, provide research experiences, and mentor a diverse workforce at the emerging interface of chemical engineering, fiber science, and polymer physics. This research will result in numerous new research experiences and an enhanced engineering education for women and underrepresented groups.The full application potential of electrospun non-woven polyelectrolyte fiber mats cannot be realized due to the dependence of the manufacturing process on toxic solvents and/or cytotoxic crosslinking agents. This research will provide a critical translation between the processing, structure, and properties of aqueous polyelectrolyte solutions electrospun into chemically robust fiber mats. Electrospinning precursor solutions will be comprised of complex coacervates, which are dense, polyelectrolyte-rich liquids that result from the electrostatic complexation of oppositely-charged polymers in water. The research team will establish parametric design rules for the electrospinning of polyelectrolyte fibers by correlating electrospinning with thermodynamic phase behavior and the rheological properties of a model coacervate system. Additionally, the partitioning and loading of hydrophilic and hydrophobic cargo into the precursor solutions and electrospun fibers will be established as a function of the hydrophobicity of the polyelectrolytes and the cargo. Chemically and thermally robust cargo-carrying fiber mats hold tremendous potential in applications where green materials are imperative, such as, wound healing, water remediation, catalysis, and food packaging.