Fabrication and characterization of a novel polysaccharide based composite nanofiber films with tunable physical properties

Yufan Yang; Bingfang Xie; Qian Liu; Baohua Kong; Hao Wang

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116054

Fabrication and characterization of a novel polysaccharide based composite nanofiber films with tunable physical properties

Carbohydr Polym. 2020 May 15:236:116054. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116054. Epub 2020 Feb 21.

Authors

Yufan Yang¹, Bingfang Xie², Qian Liu¹, Baohua Kong³, Hao Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150030, China.
² School of Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, China.
³ College of Food Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150030, China. Electronic address: kongbh@neau.edu.cn.
⁴ College of Food Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150030, China. Electronic address: h-wang@neau.edu.cn.

PMID: 32172869
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116054

Abstract

In this study, the pullulan/ethyl cellulose composite nanofiber films with tunable physical properties were fabricated by blend electrospinning process. The solution properties of polysaccharide polymers were investigated and related with the morphology of the nanofiber films, and the results showed that the addition of ethyl cellulose caused decreasing viscosity and conductivity of solutions, which gave rise to the smaller fiber diameter. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that pullulan and ethyl cellulose chains interacted with each other through hydrogen bonding. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that electrospinning process retarded the crystallization of polysaccharide molecules. Thermal analysis showed that the composite nanofiber films possessed higher melting temperature and degradation temperature than the pure pullulan nanofiber film. Water contact angle and water stability test proved that the composite nanofiber films possessed tunable surface wettability (94.6°-120.1°) and improved water stability. The mechanical test showed that the composite nanofiber films had enhanced mechanical strength.

Keywords: Composite nanofiber film; Electrospinning; Ethyl cellulose; Pullulan.