Recycled polyester nanofiber as a reservoir for essential oil release

The importance of creating sustainable alternatives for products that can be easily recyclable, such as, poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET), is not new, being textile fibers the product of greatest interest. The objective of this work is to propose a recycling alternative for PET bottles for fiber production as a reservoir of essential oils for aromatherapy applications. The fibers were obtained via coaxial and dual‐jet electrospinning techniques. The material used in the impregnation and release of peppermint oil was PET originating from disposable bottles. The release of oil from the electrospun fibers was quantified by UV–vis spectroscopy. For the fibers produced by dual‐jet electrospinning the cumulative release of peppermint reached around 70% after 30 days. The sample obtained by coaxial electrospinning had a core‐shell structure and the amount of oil released was 33% after 30 days. In this investigation, a less aggressive process was introduced, making the electrospinning of PET a viable technique for essential oil impregnation. Dual‐jet as well as coaxial electrospinning showed slower release than values reported in the literature. Thus, a procedure with more favorable working conditions was developed, making the process more feasible and serving as an alternative for recycling PET bottles to produce functional textiles. The electrospinning process proposed for encapsulating the essential oil has as the main advantage when compared to the impregnation of fibers by essential oil diffusion through the surface, a more prolonged release of the aroma in these fibers when incorporated to textile articles, enabling several cycles of use and conservation of the aroma.