Surface Grafting of Electrospun Fibers: Multiscale Characterization and Perspective for Potential Applications

In the previous work, the poly(4-vinyl dimethyl dipicolinate) (PVDPM) polymer grafted on poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film or industrial fibers proved its efficiency for trapping uranium and many lanthanides in a liquid environment. In this work, we propose to graft our active polymer on fibers obtained by electrospinning to increase the specific surface of our final material. To address this challenge, surface grafting of electrospun chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC-co-CPVC) fibers using supplemental activation reducing agent atom transfer radical polymerization (SARA-ATRP) of poly(4-vinyldipicolinic acid) (PVDPA, acid form of PVDPM) were successfully prepared. The (PVC-co-CPVC)-g-PVDPA fibers show a fast increase in the degree of grafting that goes from 54% after 4 h to 369% after 72 h. Further insights demonstrate successful complexation between the new functional electrospun (PVC-co-CPVC)-g-PVDPA fibers and europium, which proves that it could be a potential candidate for scavenging lanthanides or any agent able to interact with ligands (PVDPA), which opens up innovative application perspectives in the field of polymeric materials.