Super hydrophilic poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composite fibrous mats with improved mechanical properties prepared via electrospinning process

•PET/PVA composite fibrous mat was fabricated by electrospinning PET/PVA solution.•20/1 PET/PVA composite fibrous mat exhibited super hydrophilic property.•Mechanical properties of PET/PVA composite fibrous mat dramatically enhanced.•Cross-linked PET/PVA composite mats presented even higher mechanical properties. In this study, poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composite fibrous mats were fabricated by electrospinning mixed PET/PVA solutions with different mixing ratios. Incorporation of PVA increased the viscosity and hydrophilicity of the PET/PVA solutions and had important effects on the morphology and wetting performance of the resulting fibers. The 20/1 PET/PVA composite fibrous mat yielded the best fiber morphology and spinnability. Although the PVA content in the 20/1 PET/PVA mat is less than those of the 6/1 and 10/1 fibrous mats, the fibrous mat in our experiment exhibited superhydrophilic properties (water contact angle of zero) identical to those of the other mats. Enrichment of PVA on the surface of the 20/1 PET/PVA composite fibrous mat, which may be the main reason for the improvement in the superhydrophilic property of the mat, was demonstrated through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis. Both higher water flux and dramatically enhanced mechanical properties were also observed in the 20/1 PET/PVA composite fibrous mat. The 20/1 PET/PVA fibrous mat subjected to cross-linking treatment presented a similar water flux, improved hydrophilic property, and even higher mechanical properties than the uncross-linked composite fibrous mat.