Fabrication and characterization of polylactic acid and polylactic acid/multi-walled carbon nanotube nanofibers through centrifugal spinning.

摘要

Biocompatible polymer nanofibers hold great potential in the biomedical engineering field. Their biodegradable nature and enhanced properties could help solve a wide array of health related problems, particularly in the areas of tissue regeneration, drug delivery, and biosensor design. The novel Forcespinning™ method allows the production of submicron fibers without many of the drawbacks found in electrospinning, while also providing a substantial increase in fiber production. The aim of the study was to utilize this method to fabricate non-woven nanofibrous mats composed of polylactic acid (PLA) and polylactic acid/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite fibers. The morphology, thermal properties, and crystalline structure of the resulting nanofibers were then characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD).