Shell Thickness Dependence of Water Capture and Release in Smart Core-Shell Nanofibers

Abstract

In this research, we fabricated smart nanofiber mats, which have core−shell structure with a thermo-responsive copolymer, poly(vinyl caprolactam-co-acrylic acid) (P(VCL-co-AA)), and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) by coaxial electrospinning technique for water capture and release in the thermally simulated system. The microstructure and wettability of the P(VCL-co-AA)−PAN fibers were controlled by using the thermo-responsive polymer as the shell layer with varying shell thickness. The behavior of water capture and release in the smart nanofibers was shown within the range of room temperature and the critical solution temperature of shell polymer. The smart nanofibers may have great potential as effective membranes for water harvesting applications.