Electrospun polymeric mats constitute promising materials in the environmental area as filtering media. However, mats are typically subjected to UV irradiation throughout their use; therefore, investigation related to additives useful for mitigating their photo-degradation is necessary. In this regard, this paper addresses the long-term photo-degradation study of submicron poly (D,l-lactide) (PLA) fibers with embedded or sprayed ZnO nanoparticles which were engineered by means of electro-hydrodynamic techniques, namely electrospinning or electrospinning/electrospraying tandem processes. An extensive physico-chemical characterization of the corresponding PLA/ZnO composite fibers was performed before and after artificial UV agingby ATR-FTIR, SEC, and SEM. It was demonstrated that the ZnO concentration and the electro-hydrodynamic technique utilized had a significant effect on the UV shielding related to the nanoparticles distribution/dispersion achieved. Furthermore, a morphological development as a function of UV aging time was proposed, thus suggesting an optimal life cycle of the PLA/ZnO composite fibers, which could be extremely useful for future applications as UV-activated filtering media.

电纺聚合物垫在环境领域构成了有前途的材料，可作为过滤介质。但是，垫子在整个使用过程中通常会受到紫外线辐射。因此，有必要对有助于减轻其光降解性的添加剂进行研究。在这方面，本文着重研究了亚微米级聚（D，l内嵌或喷涂ZnO纳米粒子的聚乳酸纤维（PLA）纤维，是通过电液动力技术（即电纺或电纺/电喷串联工艺）进行工程设计的。在人工紫外线老化之前和之后，通过ATR-FTIR，SEC和SEM对相应的PLA / ZnO复合纤维进行了广泛的理化表征。结果表明，所用的ZnO浓度和电流体动力学技术对与实现的纳米粒子分布/分散有关的UV屏蔽具有显着影响。此外，有人提出了随着紫外线老化时间而变化的形态学发展，从而提出了PLA / ZnO复合纤维的最佳生命周期，这对于将来作为紫外线活化过滤介质的应用可能是极其有用的。