TY - JOUR
T1 - Tailored fibro-porous structure of electrospun polyurethane membranes, their size-dependent properties and trans-membrane glucose diffusion
AU - Wang, Ning
AU - Burugapalli, Krishna
AU - Song, Wenhui
AU - Halls, Justin
AU - Moussy, Francis
AU - Zheng, Yudong
AU - Ma, Yanxuan
AU - Wu, Zhentao
AU - Li, Kang
N1 - © 2013, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
PY - 2013/1/15
Y1 - 2013/1/15
N2 - The aim of this study was to develop polyurethane (PU) based fibro-porous membranes and to investigate the size-effect of hierarchical porous structure on permeability and surface properties of the developed electrospun membranes. Non-woven Selectophore™ PU membranes having tailored fibre diameters, pore sizes, and thickness were spun using electrospinning, and their chemical, physical and glucose permeability properties were characterised. Solvents, solution concentration, applied voltage, flow rate and distance to collector, each were systematically investigated, and electrospinning conditions for tailoring fibre diameters were identified. Membranes having average fibre diameters-347, 738 and 1102nm were characterized, revealing average pore sizes of 800, 870 and 1060nm and pore volumes of 44%, 63% and 68% respectively. Hydrophobicity increased with increasing fibre diameter and porosity. Effective diffusion coefficients for glucose transport across the electrospun membranes varied as a function of thickness and porosity, indicating high flux rates for mass transport. Electrospun PU membranes having significantly high pore volumes, extensively interconnected porosity and tailorable properties compared to conventional solvent cast membranes can find applications as coatings for sensors requiring analyte exchange.
AB - The aim of this study was to develop polyurethane (PU) based fibro-porous membranes and to investigate the size-effect of hierarchical porous structure on permeability and surface properties of the developed electrospun membranes. Non-woven Selectophore™ PU membranes having tailored fibre diameters, pore sizes, and thickness were spun using electrospinning, and their chemical, physical and glucose permeability properties were characterised. Solvents, solution concentration, applied voltage, flow rate and distance to collector, each were systematically investigated, and electrospinning conditions for tailoring fibre diameters were identified. Membranes having average fibre diameters-347, 738 and 1102nm were characterized, revealing average pore sizes of 800, 870 and 1060nm and pore volumes of 44%, 63% and 68% respectively. Hydrophobicity increased with increasing fibre diameter and porosity. Effective diffusion coefficients for glucose transport across the electrospun membranes varied as a function of thickness and porosity, indicating high flux rates for mass transport. Electrospun PU membranes having significantly high pore volumes, extensively interconnected porosity and tailorable properties compared to conventional solvent cast membranes can find applications as coatings for sensors requiring analyte exchange.
KW - Electrospinning process
KW - Fibro-porous membranes
KW - Glucose diffusion
KW - Selectophore polyurethane
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84871458171&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376738812007363?via%3Dihub
U2 - 10.1016/j.memsci.2012.09.052
DO - 10.1016/j.memsci.2012.09.052
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84871458171
SN - 0376-7388
VL - 427
SP - 207
EP - 217
JO - Journal of Membrane Science
JF - Journal of Membrane Science
ER -