β-Cyclodextrin-Modified Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibrous Scaffolds with Breathability, Moisture-Wicking, and Antistatic Performance

Breathable and moisture-wicking membranes have attracted increasing attention due to their capability of providing a drier and cooler microclimate to satisfy the comfort of wearing. Despite being a widely used textile, unsatisfactory breathability and poor antistatic properties of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) remain a serious challenge. Herein, breathable, moisture-wicking, and antistatic fibrous membranes are prepared via electrospinning by introducing a hydrophilic small molecule β-cyclodextrin into PAN. By regulating the content of β-CD, fibrous membranes with tunable porous structures and flexible hydrophilicity are obtained. Significantly, the effect of pore size, hydrophilicity, and water capacity on the breathable, moisture-wicking, and antistatic performance has been investigated. Ultimately, the 125CD/PAN membrane with a mean pore size of 3.96 μm and a moisture regain of 6.72% exhibits the best equilibrium of breathable (water vapor transmission of 3.35 kg/(m2 day), which is 88.6% of the WVTR measured without obstruction) and moisture-wicking (over 4 times than that of cotton) performance, as well as the best antistatic behavior (meeting the standard of non-durable antistatic textiles class C), which makes it an appropriate candidate in various applications, especially for the wearing comfortability of PAN textile.