Neppalli, RCausin, VBenetti, EMRay, Suprakas SEsposito, AWanjale, SBirajdar, MSaiter, J-MMarigo, A2014-09-052014-09-052014Neppalli, R. et al. 2014. Polystyrene/TiO2 composite electrospun fibers as fillers for poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate): Structure, morphology and properties. European Polymer Journal, vol. 50, pp 78-860014-3057http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0014305713005417/1-s2.0-S0014305713005417-main.pdf?_tid=aa1cf044-34f8-11e4-bc70-00000aab0f27&acdnat=1409920513_0c95fd328c6920f8057c443cefcc0318http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7659Copyright: 2014 Elsevier. This is AN ABSTRACT ONLY. The definitive version is published in European Polymer Journal, vol. 50, pp 78-86In this work, composite polystyrene/titanium dioxide (PS/TiO(sub2)) electrospun fibers were used as a reinforcement for a poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) matrix. The structure, morphology, mechanical properties and degradation behavior of such materials were investigated, finding that, as a function of their TiO(sub2) content, the fibers exerted different effects. The main mechanism through which the fibers modified the structure and morphology of the polymer matrix is by altering its crystallization kinetics. The presence of TiO(sub2) modified the roughness of the fibers and therefore affected the interfacial adhesion between the filler and the matrix. The modulus of PBSA was improved, even though the brittleness of the materials was increased by the presence of the fibers. Different amounts of TiO(sub2) within the fibers allowed to tune the hydrolytic degradation rate of the composites. This paper shows the potential of using composite electrospun fibers as effective fillers for the preparation of polymer-based composites.enBiodegradable polymersMorphologyDegradationElectrospinningPolycaprolactoneNanocompositesArticleNeppalli, R., Causin, V., Benetti, E., Ray, S. S., Esposito, A., Wanjale, S., ... Marigo, A. (2014). Polystyrene/TiO2 composite electrospun fibers as fillers for poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate): Structure, morphology and properties. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7659Neppalli, R, V Causin, EM Benetti, Suprakas S Ray, A Esposito, S Wanjale, M Birajdar, J-M Saiter, and A Marigo "Polystyrene/TiO2 composite electrospun fibers as fillers for poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate): Structure, morphology and properties." (2014) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7659Neppalli R, Causin V, Benetti E, Ray SS, Esposito A, Wanjale S, et al. Polystyrene/TiO2 composite electrospun fibers as fillers for poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate): Structure, morphology and properties. 2014; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7659.TY - Article AU - Neppalli, R AU - Causin, V AU - Benetti, EM AU - Ray, Suprakas S AU - Esposito, A AU - Wanjale, S AU - Birajdar, M AU - Saiter, J-M AU - Marigo, A AB - In this work, composite polystyrene/titanium dioxide (PS/TiO(sub2)) electrospun fibers were used as a reinforcement for a poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) matrix. The structure, morphology, mechanical properties and degradation behavior of such materials were investigated, finding that, as a function of their TiO(sub2) content, the fibers exerted different effects. The main mechanism through which the fibers modified the structure and morphology of the polymer matrix is by altering its crystallization kinetics. The presence of TiO(sub2) modified the roughness of the fibers and therefore affected the interfacial adhesion between the filler and the matrix. The modulus of PBSA was improved, even though the brittleness of the materials was increased by the presence of the fibers. Different amounts of TiO(sub2) within the fibers allowed to tune the hydrolytic degradation rate of the composites. This paper shows the potential of using composite electrospun fibers as effective fillers for the preparation of polymer-based composites. DA - 2014 DB - ResearchSpace DP - CSIR KW - Biodegradable polymers KW - Morphology KW - Degradation KW - Electrospinning KW - Polycaprolactone KW - Nanocomposites LK - https://researchspace.csir.co.za PY - 2014 SM - 0014-3057 T1 - Polystyrene/TiO2 composite electrospun fibers as fillers for poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate): Structure, morphology and properties TI - Polystyrene/TiO2 composite electrospun fibers as fillers for poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate): Structure, morphology and properties UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7659 ER -