Preparation of Polyvinyl Alcohol Nanofiber Membrane: Effects of Plasma Air Treatment

Abstract

This research studies the physical properties of polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers produced by an electrospinning process in a laboratory. Comparing the physical properties of untreated and air plasma treated membranes at room temperature. It was found that the nanofiber membranes before and after air plasma treatment had the same thickness in the range of   71.55 ± 6.78 micrometers. The diameter of the fibers becomes smaller as the treatment time increases. This widens the space between the fibers, resulting in a larger pore size of the membrane. Therefore, the porosity was increased. The plasma-treated PVA fiber membranes had a contact angle decrease from 74.276° to 19.846°, showing a marked increase in hydrophilicity and wettability compared to the untreated membranes.