Chiang Mai Journal of Science

In this study, cellulose electrospun nanofibers were prepared directly from cotton waste fiber solution via electrospinning at room temperature. The effects of solution concentration and applied voltage on morphology of electrospun nanofibers were investigated. It was observed that the fiber diameter was strongly affected by the concentration of polymer solution and applied voltage. Analysis of the fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra demonstrated that cotton fibers and cellulose electrospun nanofibers showed the same characteristic functional groups.  X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the crystallinity of the cellulose was reduced after electrospinning. Then, an antimicrobial agent solution, 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyldimethyl octadecyl ammonium chloride (AEM), was treated on cellulose electrospun nanofiber mats. All treated electrospun nanofiber mats showed better uniformity and % extraction compared with untreated mats. These electrospun nanofiber mats exhibited excellent antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from 2% w/w antimicrobial agent.