Electrospun nanofibrous membranes(ENMS) have a lot of impressive properties
such as high porosity with small pore size. However
widespread adoption of these materials has been hindered by its poor mechanical strength
which caused by the small diameter and lack of effective junction point between fibers. In this study
a post-treatment was demonstrated to the PAN/PVDF-HFP and PVDF/PVDF-HFP composite ENMS made by blending eletrospinning with a thermostable polymer and low melting temperature polymer. The post-treatment involves a 5min thermal calendering process with a pressures of 3MPa under 110℃. During the treatment
the low melting temperature polymer melted partially to form point bonding
bond the nanofibers together. The experimental results showed that the strength of enhanced PAN/ PVDF-HFP and PVDF/PVDF-HFP composite ENMS was 923. 1% and 665. 7% higher than that before treatment
reaching 17. 8MPa and 26. 9MPa
respectively
meanwhile the high porosity of ENMS have also been kept.