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Updated: May 1, 2026
Fabricating Superhydrophobic Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications
Published on: August 28, 2015
PEO-Reinforced Hydrogel-Forming PVA Nanofibrous Mats Prepared by Coaxial Electrospinning: A Physicochemical Basis for
Arash Yavari1, Takaaki Ito2, Eriko Yamazoe2
1Laboratory of Nanofiber Technology, Gifu Pharmaceutical University, 1-25-4 Daigaku-nishi, Gifu 501-1196, Japan.
Abstract:
Electrospun hydrogel-forming nanofibrous mats are attractive for wound-interface and soft-tissue applications, yet mechanical fragility and poor handling often limit translation. We report an aqueous, mildly acidic coaxial electrospinning strategy to fabricate a core-shell mat with a ductile poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) core and an acetoacetyl-functionalized poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) sheath crosslinked with sodium glyoxylate. The acetoacetyl/aldehyde reaction is proposed to generate stable ring-type covalent bridges in the PVA network. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirm fibers with clear core-shell architecture, while Fourier transform IR and X-ray diffraction (XRD) support formation of a stabilized hydrogel-forming PVA sheath and strong interpolymer interactions. The coaxial mat exhibits an ultimate tensile strength (UTS)/Young's modulus of 12.65/35.5 MPa compared with 7.63/133.0 MPa for crosslinked PVA and 7.64/17.8 MPa for neat PVA, respectively. Thus, the composite combines higher tensile strength than both PVA controls with intermediate stiffness-substantially softer than crosslinked PVA yet stiffer than neat PVA. Its elongation at break and toughness (53% strain, 5.2 MJ m-3) are lower than in neat PVA but comparable to crosslinked PVA, reflecting a strength-ductility trade-off. The mat retains hydrogel integrity after water exposure (swelling ratio ~ 5; gel content ~ 59%), and nitrogen sorption reveals mesoporosity with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of ~ 8 m2 g-1 and average pore diameter of ~ 8 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis shows a broadened intermediate degradation region for the coaxial mat. Overall, integrating a hydrophilic PEO core within a crosslinked PVA sheath enhances the dry state tensile strength of electrospun hydrogel-forming mat while preserving hydration and mesoporosity upon wetting, supporting further optimization for wound dressings.
