Mechanical and wettable behavior of polyacrylonitrile reinforced fibrous polystyrene mats

In this study, we have fabricated the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) reinforced super-hydrophobic fibrous polystyrene (PS) mats via a multi-syringe electrospinning technique. The composition ratio of PS/PAN in the blend mats could be controlled by tuning the number ratios of syringes of PS/PAN. The water contact angles (WCAs) of resultant fibrous mats was decreased from 155 degrees to 143 degrees with the decreasing the number ratios of syringes of PS/PAN from 4/0 to 1/3. The addition of the component of PAN nanofibers in fibrous PS mats significantly improved the mechanical properties of PS mats. At a critical syringe ratio of 3/1 (PS/PAN), the mat surface showed a WCA of 150 degrees with a three times increased tensile strength compared with the pure PS mats. Additionally, the results of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and mechanical properties indicated the multi-syringe electrospinning technique is an effective approach to fabricate the large-scale well-dispersed blend fibrous mats.