Influence of monomeric concentration on mechanical and electrical properties of poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile) and poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile/acrylic acid) yarns electrospun

Two series of copolymers were synthesized by emulsion polymerization: poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile) P(S:AN) and P(S:AN‐acrylic acid) P(S:AN‐AA). The monomeric concentrations in both series were: 0:100, 20:80, 40:60, 50:50 (wt%:wt%), and 1 wt% of AA. The copolymers were dissolved in N,N‐dimethylformamide (4–10 wt%) and were electrospun. Polymeric yarns were collected using a blade collector. The synthesized and fabricated materials were characterized by known techniques. Mechanical and electrical properties of polymeric yarns indicated a dependence of monomeric concentration. Elastic modulus increases as acrylonitrile concentration increases (up to 30 MPa). Yarns were submitted to degradation process into saline solution, where the acrylic acid content kept a constant elastic modulus at long times. The electrical current into yarns was higher when the concentration is 50:50 wt%:wt% (1.2 mA). The cytotoxicity results showed a cell viability close to 100% for yarns without AA.