Improvement of tensile properties and tuning of the biodegradation behavior of polycaprolactone by addition of electrospun fibers

A novel approach to simultaneously improve the physical mechanical properties and tune the biodegradation of polycaprolactone (PCL)-based composites is presented. The viability of electrospun fibers as fillers for polymer nanocomposites is shown. Nylon was chosen as the reinforcing material, whereas polyvinylpirrolidone (PVP) was selected to calibrate the biodegradation rate. Nylon fibers were effective reinforcing fillers for the PCL matrix, also in co-presence with PVP fibers. PVP fibers were, on the other hand, critical in shaping the biodegradation behavior, because they were able to create channels by which water can easily penetrate within the bulk of the material. The cooperative effect of nylon and PVP fibers allowed to obtain composites able to degrade more quickly than the matrix or than the samples containing either of the two fibers, while retaining a remarkable dimensional stability even after 20% of the total mass had degraded. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.