from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
In this work the function and application of titanium dioxide as a filler in a composite system polycaprolactone/titanium dioxide (PCL/TiO2) was examined. Titanium dioxide was applied by ultrasonic bath on already electrospun PCL fibrous scaffold treated and non-treated with NaOH. A procedure of surface modification of the electrospun PCL fibrous scaffold was made to enhance the interaction of the surface with the TiO2 particles. The surface modification was performed using NaOH for the formation of carboxyl groups on the fibers‘ surfaces. The water contact angle was measured by goniometer to prove the change from hydrophobic to hydrophilic polymer surface. SEM was used to study the morphology structure of the electrospun PCL fibrous scaffold before and after NaOH treatment and introduction of TiO2. The content of TiO2 on the electrospun PCL fibrous scaffold was determined by TGA. After NaOH treatment the surface of the electrospun PCL fibrous scaffolds changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic. SEM micrographs show that with the sonification of 30 min homogeneous TiO2 particles distribution was obtained, while after sonification of 60 min, the TiO2 particles tend to agglomerate. The modification of the scaffold surface with NaOH enhances the adhesion of the TiO2 filler. TG analysis show that longer treatment of the electrospun PCL fibrous scaffolds in the ultrasonic bath gives lower thermal stability. The time of 30 minutes in the ultrasonic bath is optimal to provide sufficient amount of the TiO2 particles on the electrospun PCL fibrous scaffold.
Keywords: Electrospinning, NaOH, surface modification, titanium dioxide© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.