Preparation of Nonwoven Materials for Removal of Oil Spills from Water by Electrospinning of Polylactide Melt

Abstract

Microfibrous materials with the average fiber diameter of 7 μm, surface density of 80-100 g m^-2, and packing density of 5-7% were prepared with a high-performance single-nozzle setup (polymer melt feeding rate ~70 mL h^-1). The electrospinning is accompanied by a change in the supramolecular structure of the polylactide: Whereas the initial granular polymer contains thermodynamically stable crystals of α-form, the nonwoven materials are amorphous, which is caused by high rate of the polymer cooling under the conditions of drawing in a strong electric field. Annealing of the fibrous materials restores the crystalline phase, and its fraction increases with the annealing time. The maximal sorption capacity of the microfibrous matrices obtained for motor oil is 85 g g^-1.