The role of solvents in the preparation of hydrophobic nanofibrous membrane containing fumed silica

It is well-known that a type of used fumed silica nanoparticles plays a dominant role in wettability of the corresponding nanofibrous mats. As a result, the desired contact angle can be approximately achieved by a choice of adequate fumed silica nanoparticles. However, less attention has been hitherto paid to an active role of solvents in connection with the tailoring this contact angle. For analysis we used poly(vinyl butyral) representing electrospun-friendly material, various types of fumed silica nanoparticles and two solvents - methanol and ethanol. It is demonstrated that a choice of polymer solvents plays a significant role in contact angle changes. Hence, in combination of the type of fumed silica nanoparticles and the type of solvent it is possible to achieve a finer partition of the required contact angles