Preparation and Characterization of Polycarbonate/TiO_2 Ultrafine Fibers

Functional ultrafine fibers of polycarbonate (PC)/TiO2 were prepared by electrospinning of PC solutions mixed with butyl titanate for possible anti-bacterial applications. Three different mixture ratios, i.e. 9:1, 8:2, and 7:3 by mass between PC and butyl titanate were applied. These fibers were then characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Furthermore, anti-bacterial performance of the nonwoven fiber mats on escherichia coli was also measured. Experimental results show that when the ratio of PC and butyl titanate is 9:1, the resulting fibers are most uniform with least beads on the fiber surfaces. When this ratio is increased to 7:3, however, as high as 87% of the escherichia coli bacteria are killed. The present work demonstrates that an attachment of titania into PC ultrafine fibers leads to a significant improvement in their anti-bacterial ability.