Selective localization of graphene oxide in electrospun polylactic acid/poly(ε-caprolactone) blended nanofibers

Despite their immiscibility, blending polylactic acid (PLA) with poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) provides an efficient strategy for obtaining a biopolymer blend with tailored properties due to their complementary physical properties. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) was employed as a 2-D nanofiller and nucleating agent to improve the properties of the immiscible PLA/PCL blends at 70/30, 50/50, and 30/70 wt ratios. Nanofibers of PLA/PCL blends and PLA/PCL/GO composites were investigated. It was interesting to find that the GO selectively localized in the minor phase resulting from the phase separation. The selective localization of the GO as the nucleating agent had an influence on the degree of crystallinity and crystalline morphology in the blended composites. This study also demonstrated that the molecular chains in the PLA phase oriented along the fiber axes, while in the PCL phase, the partial crystallites changed their orientation direction to be perpendicular to the fiber axes with the addition of GO.