Processing and characterization of electrospun trans-polyisoprene nanofibers

The method of manufacturing nanofibers using the electrospinning technique from trans-polyisoprene (TPI) is presented in this study, possibly for the first time. The process parameters such as solution concentration, applied voltage, distance and feeding rate for electrospinning were investigated and optimized with respect to fiber morphology, as observed from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photomicrographs. Smooth and uniform nanofibers were found to generate at the optimum conditions with 1% melt concentration, 15 kV of voltage, tip-to-collector distance (TCD) of 15 cm and injection rate 4 ml/h. The physicochemical properties of pure TPI and electrospun TPI fibers were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. Both DSC and FTIR characterization results show predominant transformation of TPI crystalline structure from the β form to the α form upon electrospinning.