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尺度直径的纤维组成的无纺布垫。由于其高孔隙率和表面积，纤维垫在医疗、环境和能源应用方面是很有前途的材料。虽然已经有超过100种不同的聚合物进行了静电纺丝，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静电纺丝溶液中的有毒溶剂和/或后期生产的有毒分子来使垫子具有化学稳定性。该奖项支持开发化学坚固的纳米纤维垫的基础研究，这些纳米纤维垫是由水性聚电解质溶液静电纺而成的。新的水前驱体溶液将使用盐来制备热和化学坚固的纤维，而不使用有毒溶剂，交联剂或后处理。利用绿色化学技术制造聚电解质纳米纤维垫，可以封装小分子化合物等货物，将广泛影响多功能纤维支架的设计，用于广泛的应用，包括伤口愈合和活性食品包装。美国经济和社会将受益于这项研究带来的更安全材料的生产。除了技术成果之外，这项研究还将教育、提供研究经验，并指导化学工程、纤维科学和聚合物物理等新兴领域的多样化劳动力。这项研究将产生许多新的研究经验，并加强对妇女和代表性不足群体的工程教育。静电纺无纺布聚电解质纤维垫由于其制造过程依赖于有毒溶剂和/或细胞毒性交联剂而无法充分发挥其应用潜力。这项研究将为静电纺丝成化学坚固纤维垫的水性聚电解质溶液的加工、结构和性能提供关键的转化。静电纺丝前驱体溶液将由复杂的凝聚体组成，这是一种致密的、富含聚电解质的液体，是由带相反电荷的聚合物在水中静电络合而成的。研究小组将通过将静电纺丝与模型凝聚体系的热力学相行为和流变特性相关联，建立聚电解质纤维静电纺丝的参数化设计规则。此外，亲水性和疏水性货物在前驱体溶液和电纺丝纤维中的分配和装载将作为聚电解质和货物的疏水性的函数来确定。化学和热坚固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.