Physical and chemical characterization of PLA nanofibres and PLA/ZrO2 mesoporous composites synthesized by air-jet spinning

Abstract

Polylactic acid with zirconium oxide solution has been deposited by air-jet spinning to obtain a PLA/ZrO₂ composite. Zirconium oxide is obtained by hydrothermal technique and the results indicate that zirconia is nanostructured, mesoporous and thermally stable. The precursor solutions are formed by different amounts of PLA and zirconia. PLA/ZrO₂ composite is formed by nanofibres with a random distribution, non-porous and with diameter of fibres depending of PLA and zirconia concentrations. It is found that the incorporation of zirconia makes the PLA fibres harder, less flexible and mesoporous. However, the thermal properties are not affected by the zirconia incorporation. The findings show that PLA/ZrO₂ composite can be utilized as biomaterial.