Fabrication of Polysulfone/Chitosan/Polyvinyl Alcohol Composite by Electrospinning Method and Investigation of Its Morphology

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

• Sanaz Rezaei Soulegani
• Maryam Rasouli
• Zahra Sherafat

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.

10.22067/ma.v32i1.81364

Abstract

In the present study, a polysulfone-chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol membrane was prepared through electrospinning. For this purpose, each of the polysulfone, polyvinyl alcohol and chitosan powders were dissolved in a suitable solvent. The polyvinyl alcohol and chitosan solutions were then mixed in different proportions. Subsequently, two separate syringes were used to simultaneously electrospin polysulfone and polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan solutions two . The morphology of the prepared membrane was evaluated using SEM micrographs. From the SEM images, it was clear that  the chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol solution can only be electrospun at low chitosan content. Higher chitosan concentrations do not lead to proper fiber formation. The optimum sample with uniform fibers and adaptable chitosan content was obtained when the chitosan to polyvinyl alcohol ratio was fixed at 30:70. It was found that the feed rate has a significant impact on the morphology of the membrane. Moreover, it was concluded that for a uniform and beadless morphology of polysulfone fibers, a minimum concentration of the initial solution is required. According to the fibers morphology, the threshold concentration of polysulfone was 20 wt%.,
 

Keywords

• Electrospinning
• Polysulfone
• Chitosan
• Polyvinyl alcohol
• Membrane

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