Rizky Aflaha, Chlara Naren Maharani, Yuliyan Dwi Prabowo, Roto Roto, Ruchi Gupta, Hutomo Suryo Wasisto, Aditya Rianjanu, Witha Berlian Kesuma Putri, Kuwat Triyana
The demand for waterproof and breathable membranes used in various applications has been growing immensely, and the development efforts have now been devoted not only to obtaining high-performance products but also to finding environmentally friendly materials. Here, we developed fluorine-free nanofiber membranes composed of polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) and polysulfone (PSU) with high hydrophobicity and breathability. The electrospinning method with an applied voltage of 10 kV was used to fabricate PVAc/PSU nanofiber. The PVAc/PSU nanofiber membranes were systematically optimized by varying PSU concentrations that were added into PVAc 15 wt% solution, affecting their performance and characteristics (i.e., surface morphology, water contact angle, tensile strength, pressure drop, air permeability, waterproofing, and breathability). Increasing PSU concentration results in a higher water contact angle value of up to (114 ± 4)°. The enhanced air permeability of membranes was enabled by its pressure drop reduction from (6.03 ± 0.12) kPa for pure PVAc nanofiber to (9.4 ± 0.6) Pa for PVAc/PSU nanofiber, resulting in high air permeability. PVAc/PSU nanofiber also has an outstanding tensile strength of (30.6 ± 0.3) MPa and can maintain its structure at 100 °C. Furthermore, PVAc/PSU nanofiber could retain 15 mL of water without leakage for 60 min with good repeatability and durability, and it exhibited efficient water vapor transmission with significant silica gel color change within 10 min. All these test results have demonstrated the potential of PVAc/PSU nanofiber membranes as a promising solution to address environmental concerns and the high need for advanced functional membranes. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.
Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Sekip Utara, BLS 21, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia; Research Center for Nanotechnology Systems, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Building 440-441 Kompleks Sains dan Teknologi (KST) B. J. Habibie, Tangerang Selatan, 15314, Indonesia; Department of Physics Education, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Sekip Utara, BLS 21, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia; School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom; PT Nanosense Instrument Indonesia, Yogyakarta, 55167, Indonesia; Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, Terusan Ryacudu, Way Hui, Jati Agung, Lampung Selatan, 35365, Indonesia; Center for Green and Sustainable Materials, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, Terusan Ryacudu, Way Hui, Lampung, Jati Agung, 35365, Indonesia
