A Facile Strategy for Preparing PCL/PEG Block Copolymer Microspheres via Electrospraying as Coatings for Cotton Fabrics.

Abstract: Polymeric microspheres can serve as microcarrier matrices and be used to prepare fabric coatings. After embedding spices or drugs in microspheres, and using them to coat fabrics, the coated fabrics can be applied to functional textiles. A facile one‐step, single‐solvent electrospray technology is utilized to produce polycaprolactone (PCL), PCL‐PEG400, and PCL‐PEG1000 microspheres with controlled sizes and tunable surface morphologies by adjusting parameters such as flow rate, voltage, and collection distance. Scanning electron microscopy coupled with an image analysis software (ImageJ) is employed to evaluate the size distribution and structures of the microspheres. Using PCL, PCL‐PEG400, and PCL‐PEG1000 as matrices, spherical particles with micro‐nanostructure surfaces are produced by adjusting the electrospraying parameters. According to observation and analysis results, PCL, PCL‐PEG400, and PCL‐PEG1000 form different microspheres with many porous pits, few pits, or nonporous wrinkles on a spherical surface, respectively. Increasing the flow rate or voltage produces larger or smaller microspheres, respectively. A slight increase in the average particle size is obtained by increasing the collection distance. Cotton fabrics pretreated with adhesive are directly coated by electrospraying to successfully enhance microsphere adhesion on fabric surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]