Effect of fiber structure on the properties of the electrospun hybrid membranes composed of poly(e-caprolactone) and gelatin

To elucidate the effect of fiber structure on the properties of the electrospun gelatin/PCL hybrid membranes, three types of fibers with different structures, i.e., core-shell, blend, and mixed fibers were fabricated. The crystallinity, wettability, swelling degree, and mechanical properties of the hybrid membranes were compared. It was found that the crystalline characteristics of PCL in the core-shell fibers were different from the fibers fabricated by the other two methods. That is, the orientation degree of the PCL chains in the core-shell fibers was higher than that in both blend and mixed fibers. The wettability of the hybrid membrane was dependent on both the composition and structure of the electrospun fibers. Blended fibers exhibited the highest hydrophobicity because of the enrichment of PCL at the fiber surface. Contrarily, the mixed fibers possessed the highest mechanical strength of 35.18 MPa. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013