Fabrication and Surface Functionalization of Polymeric Nanofibrous Materials and Their Applications

Polymeric nanofibrous materials offer intrinsic advantages including enormous surface area to volume ratio, high porous structure with tunable porosity, ultrafine and continuous nanofiber, easy functionalization and superior mechanical properties. These remarkable merits provide polymeric nanofibrous materials great opportunities for a wide range of important applications. This dissertation explores the fabrication and surface functionalization of polymeric nanofibrous materials and their specific applications for protective clothing materials, heterogeneous catalysts and affinity membranes for biochromatography.;Chapter 1 presents a literature review of the preparation of polymeric nanofibrous materials and their successful applications. Chapter 2 reports the preparation of hydantoin-5-acetic acid immobilized poly(ethylene- co-methacrylic acid) (PE-co-MAA) nanofibrous membranes with high efficient antibacterial functions. In Chapter 3, poly(vinyl alcohol- co-ethylene-g-diallylmelamine) (PVA-co-PE- g-DAM) nanofiber layered non-woven fabrics are prepared as ultra-light protective clothing materials. Their physical properties including membrane morphology, hydrophilicity, air permeability and water vapor transmission, and the chlorination process variables of the membranes such as chlorination time, rechargeability and storage stability of the chlorinated membranes, as well as chemical and biological decontamination functions were investigated. In Chapter 4, anthraquinone compound is covalently linked on poly(vinyl alcohol- co-ethylene) (PVA-co-PE) nanofibrous materials to realize the generation of reactive oxygen species for antimicrobial effect and pesticide decomposition properties.;Chapter 5 presents glutaraldehyde (GA) functionalized PVA-co -PE nanofibrous membranes for lipase immobilization. The optimum condition for GA modification is evaluated to achieve a high amount of immobilized enzyme and well-remained enzyme activity. In Chapter 6, protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) is attached to the surfaces of poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) (PE-co-MAA) nanofibrous membranes with the aid of different diamine linkers. The linker effects on PPIX immobilization and the resulted catalytic performance for photo-oxidation reactions are investigated.;Chapter 7 and 8 address the preparation of ligand-attached nanofibrous membranes as affinity membranes for biomolecule purifications. In Chapter 7, Cibacron Blue F3GA (CB) anchored PVA-co-PE nanofibrous membranes are prepared and applied for bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption and elution. In Chapter 8, PVA-co-PE nanofibrous membranes with immobilized chelating metal complex of iminodiacetic acid and copper ions are prepared. The static binding capacity of lysozyme and the separation of lysozyme from chicken egg white via prepared affinity membranes are evaluated.