Volume 136, Issue 15 47337
Article

Polystyrene bioactive nanofibers using orange oil as an ecofriendly solvent

Kelvi W. E. Miranda

Kelvi W. E. Miranda

Graduate Program in Biomaterials Engineering, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, 37200-000 Minas Gerais, Brazil

Nanotechnology National Laboratory for Agriculture (LNNA), Embrapa Instrumentation, São Carlos, 13560-970 São Paulo, Brazil

Search for more papers by this author
Luiz H. C. Mattoso

Luiz H. C. Mattoso

Nanotechnology National Laboratory for Agriculture (LNNA), Embrapa Instrumentation, São Carlos, 13560-970 São Paulo, Brazil

Search for more papers by this author
Joana D. Bresolin

Joana D. Bresolin

Nanotechnology National Laboratory for Agriculture (LNNA), Embrapa Instrumentation, São Carlos, 13560-970 São Paulo, Brazil

Search for more papers by this author
Silviane Z. Hubinger

Silviane Z. Hubinger

Nanotechnology National Laboratory for Agriculture (LNNA), Embrapa Instrumentation, São Carlos, 13560-970 São Paulo, Brazil

Search for more papers by this author
Eliton S. Medeiros

Eliton S. Medeiros

Materials and Biosystems Laboratory, Department of Materials Engineering (DEMAT), Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), João Pessoa, 58051-900 João Pessoa, Brazil

Search for more papers by this author
Juliano E. de Oliveira

Corresponding Author

Juliano E. de Oliveira

Department of Engineering (DEG), Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, 37200-000 Minas Gerais, Brazil

Correspondence to: J. E. de Oliveira (E-mail: [email protected])Search for more papers by this author
First published: 17 December 2018
Citations: 20

ABSTRACT

Solution blow spun polystyrene (PS) nanofibers were produced from 20 to 30 wt % PS solutions using toluene (industrial solvent) and orange oil (green solvent). The latter being composed of d-limonene (97.06%) as determined by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy. The rheological behavior and volatility of the solvents and polymer solutions were correlated with fiber morphology, accessed by scanning electron microscopy. Thermal analysis was used to determine the thermal behavior of fibers. The antimicrobial activity of orange oil was tested for potential applications of the spun mats in active food packaging. Results showed that the nanofibers spun from orange oil solutions had average diameters of 306 ± 74 nm as opposed to 441 ± 110 nm for toluene. Moreover, when compared with fiber spun from toluene solutions, orange oil yielded more flexible fibers with slightly lower contact angles and better antimicrobial properties due to the presence of residual oil confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47337.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.