Modification of the Physicochemical Properties of Poly (butylene Adipate-Co-terephthalate) (pbat)/polylactic Acid (Pla)-Based Electrospun Nanofibers Using Salts

This work reports the use of sodium chloride (NaCl), calcium chloride (CaCl2), and metformin (MET) as pore-inducers in poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT)/polylactic acid (PLA)-based electrospun micro-fibers. SEM analysis confirmed the formation of homogeneous PBAT/PLA fibers. However, the incorporation of the salt molecules led to the formation of beads. The salts also increased the amorphous character of the fibers, but they did not affect their thermal stability. All salts but CaCl2 increased the surface area of the fibers. Nevertheless, they were not efficient in creating fibers with high surface areas, especially because the surface areas observed were lower than 2 m2 g-1. The salts improved the mechanical performance of the fibers and, in terms of adsorption isotherms, all matrices but PBAT/PLA-CaCl2 displayed complex multilayer adsorption profiles.