Abstract:

Polyamide 6 (PA6) with modifier (polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP) was electrospun by adjusting the processing parameters to fabricate hydrophilic PA6 nanofibrous membranes. The morphology, mechanical properties and hydrophilicty of electrospun fibers were characterized. When the PA6 spinning solution concentration of 28% and the amount of 0.5 g PVP were determined, the diameter of the fibers is 132 nm, the fracture strength is 9.68 MPa, the elongation at break is 31.89% and the hydrophilic angle also is ( 32.4° ± 1.2)°. The filtration performances of the fibrous membrane with the different spinning time were analyzed. The membrane with the spinning time of 0.5 h exhibits a better performance with efficiency of 99.5% and resistance of 476 Pa. The mechanism of the improved hydrophilicity of PA6 was analyzed by FT-IR. The increased amide group coming from PVP enhances the hydrophilicity of PVP/PA6 nanofibrous membranes significantly. Therefore, this membrane is expected to be applied in humidifier wet film materials.

Key words: electrospinning, polyamide 6 , polyvinylpyrrolidone, nanofibrous membrane, air filtration