Correlations of Solution Rheology with Electrospun Fiber Formation of Linear and Branched Polyesters

The implications of the entanglement concentration (Ce) on the electrospinning process for a series of linear and branched poly(ethylene terephthalate-co-ethylene isophthalate) (PET-co-PEI) copolymers with weight-average molecular weights (Mw) ranging from 11 700 to 106 000 g/mol and branching index values (g‘) from 1.0 to 0.43 were investigated. Analyzing the dependence of specific viscosity (ηsp) on concentration enabled the determination of the semidilute unentangled, semidilute entangled, and concentrated regimes for the PET-co-PEI solutions. Linear and branched copolymers were electrospun from semidilute unentangled, semidilute entangled, and concentrated solutions under identical conditions to determine…