Synthesis of Recycled Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/Polyacrylonitrile/Styrene Composite Nanofibers by Electrospinning and Their Mechanical Properties Evaluation

Consumption of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) products has increased dramatically in recent decades, resulting in the generation of a large amount of PET waste. For that reason, is necessary to find a new application of recycled material. In this article, we report the synthesis and characterization of recycled poly (ethylene terephthalate) (RPET) obtained from the chemical recycling of post-consumer PET bottles by glycolysis method and the formation of composites nanofibers RPET/polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/styrene (ST). The RPET synthesis was studied through infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The viscosity and frequency sweep of the polymeric solutions was evaluated. The composites nanofibers were elaborated by the electrospinning technique and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FT-IR, TGA/DSC and nanoindentation. The RPET/PAN/ST composite nanofibers present an average diameter of 456 nm and higher thermal stability compared PAN fibers. The mechanical properties such as hardness and elastic modulus were 4.5 and 7.5 times PAN fibers values, respectively.