Electrospinning behavior study of composite fiber membranes loaded with tantalum particles

Abstract In this study, composite fiber membranes loaded with tantalum particles were prepared by electrostatic spinning technique, and three polymers, poly(lactic acid) (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)), which are widely used in biomedical applications, were selected as the matrix materials and screened for different solvent systems, respectively. The morphology, crystallinity and hydrophilicity of tantalum-induced fibrous membranes were investigated under different material and solvent conditions. The results showed that the conductivity of the spinning solution and its ability to generate induced charges in the electric field were enhanced by dispersion and charge migration, which in turn induced the jets to be stressed in the electric field and form finer fibers. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analyses showed that the charge transfer behavior of tantalum particles promoted fiber stretching, leading to fiber diameter refinement. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (IR) analyses showed that the incorporation of tantalum particles induced the transformation of P(VDF-TrFE) from α-phase to β-phase, but had less effect on the crystallinity of PCL and PLA. In addition, hydrophilicity tests showed that tantalum particles reduced the hydrophobicity of PCL and PLA fiber membranes through charge-mediated surface modification.