Effect of Solution Concentration on the Electrospray/Electrospinning Transition and on the Crystalline Phase of PVDF

A study was conducted regarding the effect of concentration of poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and PVDF/DMF/acetone solutions on the transition between electrospray and electrospinning and on the formation of the ? and ? crystalline phases of PVDF. The crystalline phases present in the samples, crystallinity and morphology were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Low concentration solutions resulted in films consisting of small droplets (electrospray) containing predominantly the ? phase. High concentration solutions resulted in a non-woven mesh of nano-to-micron diameter fibers (electrospinning) containing exclusively the ? phase. These results showed that, the formation of this phase in the electrospinning is related mainly to the solvent evaporation rate, and not to drawing experienced by the polymer during the process. Solvent type affected the amount of crystalline phase present, the boundary concentration between the two processes and the average diameter of fibers. Meshes processed by electrospinning display a degree of crystallinity higher than the films obtained by electrospray.