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Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Vapor Phase Deposition of Electroactive Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) onto Electrospun Commodity Polymer Nanofibers
Published on: March 7, 2025
Morphological and surface properties of electrospun chitosan nanofibers
Keyur Desai1, Kevin Kit, Jiajie Li
1Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.
Abstract:
Nonwoven fiber mats of chitosan with potential applications in air and water filtration were successfully made by electrospinning of chitosan and poly(ethyleneoxide) (PEO) blend solutions. Electrospinning of pure chitosan was hindered by its limited solubility in aqueous acids and high degree of inter- and intrachain hydrogen bonding. Nanometer-sized fibers with fiber diameter as low as 80 +/- 35 nm without bead defects were made by electrospinning high molecular weight chitosan/PEO (95:5) blends. Fiber formation was characterized by fiber shape and size and was found to be strongly governed by the polymer molecular weight, blend ratios, polymer concentration, choice of solvent, and degree of deacetylation of chitosan. Weight fractions of polymers in the electrospun nonwoven fibers mats were determined by thermal gravimetric analysis and were similar to ratio of polymers in the blend solution. Surface properties of fiber mats were determined by measuring the binding efficiency of toxic heavy metal ions like chromium, and they were found to be related with fiber composition and structure.
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