Electrospinning fabrication of partially crystalline bisphenol A polycarbonate nanofibers: The effects of molecular motion and conformation in solutions

Partially crystalline bisphenol A polycarbonate (BPAPC) nanofibers were successfully fabricated using a combination of a centrifugal field (1800 rpm) and an electrostatic field (25 kV). The BPAPC solution properties are key factors for adequately electrospinning the partially crystalline BPAPC nanofibers. The correlation times (τc) of methyl (τc = 9.3 ns) and of benzene-ring (τc = 15.3 and 15.8 ns) motions in the 14 wt.% BPAPC/THF solution were longer than in CH2Cl2 and CHCl3, as determined by NMR. The distribution-peak maximum of the hydrodynamic radius of BPAPC in the 14 wt.% THF solution (Rh = 15 Å) was higher than in CH2Cl2 (Rh = 9.2 Å) and CHCl3 (Rh = 7.9 Å), as evidenced by DLS data. We conclude that the BPAPC assumed a denser, more worm-like chain conformation in THF solvation.