Preparation and performance study of PLA @ PEO @ BT piezoelectric functional nanofibers

In recent years, piezoelectric functional nanofibers have been widely used in vascular tissue engineering. The preparation of nanofibers with good piezoelectric properties is beneficial for exploring the effects of mechanical signals induced electrical signals on cell behavior. The polylactic acid @ polyethylene oxide @ barium titanate (PLA @ PEO @BT) piezoelectric functional nanofiber successfully was prepared by electrospinning blending method. The nanofibers were characterized for their surface morphology, hydrophilicity, composition, mechanical properties, and piezoelectric properties using scanning electron microscopy, contact angle analyzer, x-ray diffractometer, ultra-high precision static micro force testing machine, and oscilloscope. PLA and PEO with different ratios in PLA @ PEO @ BT fibers formed a staggered porous network fiber structure and possessed different piezoelectric properties. When PLA: PEO=1:0, the output voltage was the highest, at 0.630V. As the proportion of PLA decreased, the output voltage was the lowest at 0.014V when PLA: PEO=1:1. Subsequently, due to the formation of numerous hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl groups of PEO and BT, the output voltage gradually increased as the proportion of PEO increased. When PLA: PEO=0:1, the output voltage was 0.071V. The results indicated that PLA, PEO, and BT all exhibited synergistic piezoelectric effects. Therefore, these with different piezoelectric properties PLA @ PEO @ BT nanofibers were expected to be applied in vascular tissue engineering.