Abstract

Electrospun nanofibrous membranes offer superior properties over other polymeric membranes not only due to their high membrane porosity but also due to their high surface-to-volume ratio. A plethora of available polymers and post-modification methods allow the incorporation of "smart" responsiveness in fiber membranes. The pH-responsive property is achieved using polymers from the class of polyelectrolytes, which contain pH-dependent functional groups on their polymeric backbone. Electrospinning macroscopic membranes using polyelectrolytes earned considerable interest for biomedical and environmental applications due to the possibility to trigger chemical and physical changes of the membrane (swelling, wettability, degradation) in response to environmental pH-changes. Here, we review recent advancements in the field of electrospinning of pH-responsive nanofiber materials. Starting with the chemical background of pH-responsive polymers at the molecular level, we highlight the material-property transformation upon pH-change at the macroscopic membrane level and, finally, we provide an overview of recent applications of pH-responsive fiber membranes.

摘要

静电纺丝纳米纤维膜提供优于其他聚合物膜的性能，这不仅是因为它们的高膜孔隙率，而且还因为它们的高表面积与体积比。大量可用的聚合物和后改性方法允许在纤维膜中加入“智能”响应性。pH 响应特性是使用聚电解质类的聚合物实现的，该聚合物在其聚合物骨架上含有 pH 依赖性官能团。使用聚电解质的静电纺宏观膜在生物医学和环境应用中引起了相当大的兴趣，因为它可能触发膜的化学和物理变化（溶胀、润湿性、降解）以响应环境 pH 值的变化。这里，我们回顾了 pH 响应纳米纤维材料静电纺丝领域的最新进展。从分子水平的 pH 响应聚合物的化学背景开始，我们重点介绍了在宏观膜水平上 pH 变化时材料性质的转变，最后，我们概述了 pH 响应纤维膜的近期应用。