Preparation and alkali treatment of electrospun CA nanofibers

Cellulose is difficult to dissolve in ordinary solvents and electrospin into cellulose nano-fibers(CNFs) directly,so the cellulose acetate(CA) nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning firstly,and then subjected to alkali treatment to obtain CNFs.The influences of the composition and concentration of alkali solution and treating time on the treatment result were studied,and the crystal structure and thermal properties of CA nanofibers and CNFs were analyzed.It was found that when the volume fraction of ethanol and water is 2∶1 in the alkali solution with sodium hydroxide(NaOH),with concentration 0.5 mol/L and treating time 0.5 h,the optimum results were achieved.After alkali treatment,the CNFs exhibited smooth and uniform surface with an average diameter of 583 nm and features of celluloseⅠand Ⅱ crystal structures,and had no obvious glass transition temperature.