Electrospun novel super-absorbent based on polysaccharide-polyvinyl alcohol-montmorillonite clay nanocomposites

A novel super-absorbent material was fabricated by electrospinning the natural polysaccharide pullulan (PULL) with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and montmorillonite (MMT) clay to form nonwoven webs, which were then heat treated. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs, X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis of the novel super-absorbent nanofibers suggest the coexistence of PULL, PVA, and MMT through the exfoliation of MMT layers in the super-absorbent nanofiber composite. The heat-treated PULL/PVA/MMT webs loaded with 5 wt% MMT electrospun nanofibers exhibited a water absorbency of 143.42 g g−1 in distilled water and a water absorbency of 39.75 g g−1 in a 0.9 wt% NaCl solution. Under extremely dry conditions, the PULL/PVA/MMT webs exhibited the ability to retain 43% distilled water and 38% saline water after being exposed to the atmosphere for one week. The heat treatment improved the crystallinity of the electrospun PULL/PVA/MMT super-absorbent webs and thus made the webs highly stable in aqueous environments. Overall, the addition of MMT resulted in improved thermal stability and mechanical properties and increased the water absorbency of the PULL/PVA/MMT composite.