Investigation of nanomechanical and morphological properties of silane-modified halloysite clay nanotubes reinforced polycaprolactone bio-composite nanofibers by atomic force microscopy


Bulbul Y. E., Uzunoglu T., Dilsiz N., Yildirim E., Ateş H.

POLYMER TESTING, vol.92, 2020 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 92
  • Publication Date: 2020
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2020.106877
  • Journal Name: POLYMER TESTING
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, PASCAL, Aerospace Database, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, INSPEC, Metadex, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Keywords: Atomic force microscopy, Electrospinning, Bio-composite nanofiber, Polycaprolactone, Halloysite day nanotube, Silane-modification, ROBUST STRATEGIES, CURVE ANALYSIS, ELECTROSPUN, NANOINDENTATION, NANOCOMPOSITES, INDENTATION, MEMBRANES, MODULUS, FIBER, SOFT
  • Gazi University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

There is remarkable interest in the fabrication of polymeric composite nano/micro-fibers by electrospinning for many applications ranging from bioengineering to water/air filtration. In almost all of these applications, the mechanical properties of both the polymer fibers and their assemblies, are significant. In this study, unmodified, 3-Glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) or 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) modified halloysite clay nanotube (HNT) reinforced polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers were successfully synthesized via the electrospinning. The morphology and mechanical features of the obtained electrospun fibers were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and AFM-based nanoindentation for single fibers in nanoscale, respectively. Besides, scanning electron microscopy and tensile strength tests were used to investigate whole fibrous structures in microscale. The AFMresults, accompanied by SEM and tensile strength, support the conclusion that silane-modification affected positively the morphology and mechanical characteristics of electrospun PCL nanofibers. Therefore, it was concluded that the morphological and mechanical features from the single fibers in the nanofiber mats were related to the whole fibrous structure.