Impact of Low‐Dose Iodine/Bromine Doping Tailors Morphology, Wettability, and Thermal Stability of Electrospun <scp>PMMA</scp> Nanofibers

ABSTRACT Halogens like iodine and bromine improve polymer electrospinning nanofiber stability, structure, and function for various applications. This study controls poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanofibers with halogens at below 1%. Extensive characterization methods, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), porosity analysis, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle (CA) measurements, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), reveal significant physicochemical changes. The SEM results indicate a decrease in fiber diameter from 864 ± 188 nm for pure PMMA to 675 ± 101 nm with 0.9 wt % bromine, resulting in uniform, bead‐free porous structures due to enhanced solution conductivity and optimized solvent conditions. The porosity analysis shows that at 0.3 and 0.9 wt %, iodine caused 15% densification due to charge‐transfer complexation and pore collapse. Bromine increased porosity to 38% (S5) at similar concentrations, maintaining interconnectivity due to reduced physisorption. Minor ester and C–H peak changes in FTIR analysis indicated that halogens were physisorbed without new bonds. CA measurements showed diverse wettability behaviors: bromine reduced hydrophobicity, while iodine increased hydrophobicity. DSC analysis showed glass transition temperatures increased from 2.3°C to 2.7°C, improving thermal stability and reducing chain mobility. These findings show that low‐dose halogens significantly alter PMMA nanofiber morphology, wettability, and thermal stability, which may be advantageous for tissue applications.