Electrospinning of cyclodextrin functionalized poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanofibers

Cyclodextrin functionalized PMMA nanofibers (PMMA/CD) were successfully produced by electrospinning technique with the goal to develop functional nanowebs. Bead-free uniform electrospun PMMA/CD nanofibers were obtained from a homogeneous solution of CDs and PMMA in dimethylformamide (DMF) using three different types of CDs, α-CD, β-CD and γ-CD. The electrospinning conditions were optimized in order to form bead-free PMMA/CD nanofibers by varying the concentrations of PMMA and CDs in the solutions. The concentration of CDs was varied from 5% up to 50% w/w, with respect to the PMMA matrix. We find that the presence of the CDs in the PMMA solutions facilitates the electrospinning of bead-free nanofibers from the lower polymer concentrations and this behavior is attributed to the high conductivity and viscosity of the PMMA/CD solutions. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra of PMMA/CD nanowebs did not show any significant diffraction peaks indicating that the CD molecules are homogeneously distributed within the PMMA matrix and does not form any phase separated crystalline aggregates. Furthermore, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) studies elucidate that some CD molecules are located on the surface of the nanowebs. This suggests that these CD functionalized nanowebs may have the potential to be used as molecular filters and/or nanofilters for waste treatment purposes.