Electrospinning Nanofiber Mats from Aqueous Polyelectrolyte Solutions

静电纺丝是一种成熟的技术，用于制造由纳米和微米直径纤维组成的无纺布纤维垫。由于其高孔隙率和高比表面积，纤维垫在医疗、环境和能源应用方面具有广阔的应用前景。虽然已有100多种不同的聚合物电纺垫子，但几乎所有关于带电聚合物静电纺丝的报道都使用了前体电纺液中的有毒溶剂和/或有毒分子的后期生产，以使垫子具有较强的化学稳定性。该奖项支持开发从聚电解质水溶液中电纺的化学坚固的纳米纤维垫的基础研究。新的水基前驱体溶液将使用盐来制备耐热和化学坚固的纤维，而无需使用有毒溶剂、交联剂或后处理。利用绿色化学制造可包裹小分子化合物等物品的聚电解质纳米纤维垫，将广泛影响多功能纤维支架的设计，应用范围广泛，包括伤口愈合和活性食品包装。美国经济和社会将从这项研究带来的更安全材料的生产中受益。除了技术成就，这项研究还将教育、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领域指导不同的劳动力。这项研究将为妇女和代表不足的群体带来许多新的研究经验和加强工程教育。由于电纺无纺布聚电解质纤维垫的制造过程依赖于有毒溶剂和/或细胞毒性交联剂，因此无法充分发挥其应用潜力。这项研究将提供电纺成化学坚固的纤维垫的水相聚电解质溶液的加工、结构和性能之间的关键转换。电纺前驱体解决方案将由复杂的凝聚体组成，凝聚体是密度高、富聚电解质的液体，由相反电荷的聚合物在水中静电络合而成。研究小组将通过将静电纺丝与热力学相行为和模型凝聚系统的流变性联系起来，建立聚电解质纤维静电纺丝的参数设计规则。此外，亲水性和疏水性货物在前驱体溶液和电纺纤维中的分配和装载将取决于聚电解质和货物的疏水性。耐化学性和耐热性的载货纤维垫在需要绿色材料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.