An electrorheological investigation of PVB solutions in connection with their electrospinning qualities

During the process of electrostatic spinning, the rheological behaviour of polymer solutions is significantly influenced by the presence of an external electric field. The aim of this contribution is to find a correlation between the electrorheological characteristics of polyvinylbutyral (PVB) solutions and their electrostatic spinnability. When exposed to an external electric field, PVB solutions with either poor or good solvents respond in different ways. It was shown that the complex viscosity ratio ηE*/η0* (where ηE* and η0* represent complex viscosities of a solution in the presence and absence of an external electric field, respectively) can serve as an indicator as to whether a chosen material is a potential candidate for acceptable electrospinning. This occurs when the ratio ηE*/η0* increases with increasing electric field strength, i.e., when poor solvents are applied. The possible changes to the physical and chemical properties of PVB solutions were investigated using SEM, FTIR, DSC, 13C- and 1H-NMR techniques.