Time-resolved simultaneous WAXS/SAXS characterization of electrospun elastomeric blend materials as a function of temperature and stretching

Conventional elastomeric materials are usually constituted by petroleum-based polymers making them unsustainable, and mostly non-biodegradable. Even when natural rubber is used for elastomeric materials preparation, due to crosslinking it becomes a non-eco-friendly material with many potentially toxic fillers. To tackle these challenges, we have developed for the first time innovative and complex blend systems of biodegradable and sustainable polymers, constituted of amorphous and semicrystalline polyhydroxyalkanoates, cis-1,4-polyisoprene, crystalline poly(ethylene oxide), polycaprolactone, semicrystalline cellulose acetate, crystalline cellulose and polysaccharide gums, using an electrohydrodynamic approach, and blends exhibit distinctive elastomeric (stretchable) properties while vulcanization/crosslinking is not required, thus maintaining biodegradability and eco-friendliness.

This study aims to characterize the crystallinity and strain-induced crystallization behavior across the range of temperatures, to understand the complex mechanical and structural responses of these innovative advanced fibrous elastomeric materials. In this sense, time-resolved simultaneous wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) using synchrotron radiation across varying temperatures will help us to gain a deeper insight into the thermal and structural evolution of fibrous elastomeric biomaterials that we have developed. Conducting in-situ stretching experiments during these measurements will allow us to analyze phase transitions and crystallinity changes in real time. Additionally, we will evaluate crystallinity after multiple stress-strain cycles to complement our existing data, which have demonstrated a significant impact of cyclic loading on materials’ morphology and mechanical behavior. Moreover, we aim to investigate the aging of new elastomeric materials by analyzing samples aged for 3 and 6 months, which is important from the aspect of potential application. The applied stress for planned experiments will be precisely set based on previously obtained mechanical and hysteresis data, enabling us to complement novel findings from the synchrotron with the existing laboratory-level results.