Poly(styrene-b-isobutylene-b-styrene) Triblock Copolymer Fiber Generation with Centrifugal Spinning, and its Potential Application in Oil Collection

In this paper the creation of poly(styrene-b-isobutylene-b-styrene) triblock copolymer (SIBS) fiber creation with centrifugal spinning is discussed. The centrifugal spinning procedure was tested at various concentrations, rotation speeds, and needle inner diameters (ID). At the most stable condition of 25 wt% and ID = 0.55 mm needle, fibers with 4.75.3 $\mu$m average diameter were acquired. Electrospinning of SIBS with polyethylene glycol was also carried out for the sake of comparison, which yielded beaded fibers at the given conditions. The productivity of centrifugal spinning was roughly two orders of magnitude higher than that of the electrospinning. The measured water contact angle on these fiber mats was 133-135°, demonstrating a highly hydrophobic property. Contact angle experiments with sunflower oil showed perfect wetting, highlighting the potential for SIBS fiber mats to be used in the separation of oil from water.