Shape-memory properties of electrospun non-woven fabrics prepared from degradable polyesterurethanes containing poly(ω-pentadecalactone) hard segments

Microscaled non-woven fabrics with fiber diameters in the range 1.8–3.1 μm were prepared by electrospinning from a chloroform solution of a degradable multiblock copolymer (PDLCL) consisting of crystallizable poly(ω-pentadecalactone) hard segments (PPDL) and poly(ε-caprolactone) switching segments (PCL). The surface morphology and microstructure of the non-woven fabrics were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, temperature-controlled scanning probe microscopy, wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The microstructural analysis demonstrated that the rod-like domains of hard segment (PPDL) formed in the electrospun PDLCL fiber functioned as physical crosslinks. Cyclic, thermomechanical tensile tests showed that the electrospun PDLCL fabrics exhibited good shape-memory properties with strain recovery rates of Rr = 89–95% and strain fixity rates of Rf = 82–83% after the 2nd cycle, when small deformations were applied at clinically relevant temperatures.