Branched polystyrene model systems to investigate the rheology of polymer fiber spinning

The effects of chain topology on the melt- and electrospinning process were investigated in this study for linear and comb polymers. A series of nearly monodisperse model comb structures with well-defined backbone and side chains was synthesized using anionic polymerization of polystyrene. The results indicate a large influence of the polymer topology (length and number of side chains) on the rheological behavior and spinnability of these polymers