Electrospun Epoxidized Natural Rubber with Poly(vinyl chloride) (ENR-PVC) Nanofibrous for PEMFC Applications

Abstract

Various electrospun epoxized natural rubber / poly (vinyl chloride) (ENR/PVC) blend nonwoven membranes were prepared by electrospinning technique. Various concentration of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) solution in N,N -dimethylformamide (DMF) were directly added to PVC solution for plasticization of the electrospun nanofibrous. Differencial thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), fourier transfrom infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the pristine and plasticized nanofibrous. DTA results indicated that the addition of ENR resulted in the shifting of glass transition temperature (Tg) towards lower temperatures. The blending of PVC with ENR is thermodynamically incompatible.