A facile restructuring of 3D high water absorption aerogels from methoxy polyethylene glycol‑polycaprolactone (mPEG‑PCL) nanofibers

High water absorption aerogels with three-dimensional porous structures and high specific surface areas have been fabricated from methoxy polyethylene glycol‑polycaprolactone block copolymer (mPEG‑PCL) via a facile approach by electrospinning, mechanical homogeneous shearing and dispersing short fibers in the water, freeze-drying, and heat crosslinking. The three-dimensional nanofiber aerogels (TNAs) exhibit continuous porous structures which are restructured with crisscrossed and dispersed nanofibers. The aerogel displays a low density (36 ± 3 mg/cm3), a high specific surface area (230 m2/g), a high pore volume (5.9 cm3/g), a high porosity of 85% as well as an average pore diameter (1.12 μm). The as-made mPEG-PCL TNAs deliver a high average water-absorption capacity of 24.11 g/g and a good retention ability owing to the three-dimensional porous structures and large micropores population. The water absorption could still reach approximately 25 g/g after 10 compression cycles of TNAs. The average dehydration weight loss of 3.1% demonstrates that the materials are hardly soluble in the water, and the structural characteristic would not be changed after water adsorption. The antimicrobial activity against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli are assessed that the TNAs are suitable carriers of antimicrobial agents. Moreover, as showed by cytotoxic tests, the TNAs are neglectable toxic, which are suitable for applications in environmental bioengineering. Based on the high water absorption and biocompatibility, the TNAs could be suitable candidates for health care materials and medical products.