Naturally flavonoid-derived PVA nanofibers for antioxidation

Constructing supramolecular interactions between small molecules and polymers is emerging as a powerful strategy for developing sophisticated nanostructures with excellent performance. Herein, by varying the concentration of baicalein, a continuous bead-free and naturally-derived polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/sodium alginate (SA) based nanofiber was fabricated through electrospinning and physical crosslinking. Fabrication of a hydrophobic fiber with antioxidant (baicalein) storage is realized by connecting a one-step integration procedure with physical post-modification. Physically crosslinked PVA and SA are used as hydrophobic and hydrophilic segments, respectively, for supramolecular interactions dominated by hydrogen bonds and immobilizing the antioxidant baicalein. The addition of SA can provide the stable interactions and result in a soft film with little bifurcated microstructure. Baicalein is used not only as an antioxidant but also to tune the morphology of the resulting bead-free fibrous film. Concurrently, the bead-free film increases the water resistance and the survival rate of UV protection by approximately double under continuous UV radiation compared to PVA–SA film. With regard to the above results, the current work develops a facile process for the production of materials with sophisticated nanostructures in the fields of clothing or packaging.