Morphology, crystallization behavior and tensile properties of [beta]-nucleated isotactic polypropylene fibrous membranes prepared by melt electrospinning

[beta]-nucleated isotactic polypropylene (iPP) fibers with diameters less than 5 [mu]m were prepared through melt electrospinning. The effects of electrospinning process and rare earth [beta]-nucleating agent (WBG) on the crystal structure of iPP fibers were investigated. The results indicate that the addition of WBG can improve the fluidity of iPP melt remarkably and help the formation of fine fibers with thinner diameter, while the electrostatic force applied on the iPP melt is not favorable for the formation of [beta]-crystal in iPP fibers. In addition, the morphology and crystalline structure of WBG/iPP electrospun fibers depended on the content of WBG. Both the crystallinity and the percentage of [beta]-crystal form of WBG/iPP electrospun fibers increase with the rise of the content of nucleating agent, which endows the prepared electrospun fibers excellent mechanical properties. The [beta]-nucleated iPP electrospun fibrous membranes prepared in this study can be used for protective clothing material, filtration media, reinforcement for composites and tissue engineering scaffolds.