Novel multifunctional nanofibers based on thermoplastic polyurethane and ionic liquid: towards antibacterial, anti-electrostatic and hydrophilic nonwovens by electrospinning

Novel antibacterial, anti-electrostatic, and hydrophilic nanofibers based on a blend containing thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and a room-temperature ionic liquid (IL), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [BMIM][PF 6 ], were fabricated by electrospinning. We investigated the effect of the IL on the morphology and the physical properties of the TPU nanofibers. Nanofibers with a ‘bead-on-string’ morphology were obtained by electrospinning from a neat TPU solution. The incorporation of the IL, at levels as low as 1 wt%, largely suppressed the formation of beads during electrospinning, and homogeneous nanofibers were obtained. The as-spun TPU/IL composite nanofibers showed significant activity against both Escherichia coli ( E coli) and Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ), with antibacterial activities of more than four and three, respectively. This means that the antibacterial efficiencies of TPU/IL composite nanofibers toward E col...

Chenyang Xing, Jipeng Guan, Zhouli Chen, Yu Zhu, Bowu Zhang, Yongjin Li and Jingye Li

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