Fabrication and morphological optimization of TPU/PDMS blend nanofibers via one-step blending electrospinning

Blend nanofibers have attracted significant interest in biomedical, energy storage, and flexible electronics due to their outstanding synergistic properties. However, the coaxial electrospinning of thermoplastic polyurethane/polydimethylsiloxane (TPU/PDMS) nanofibers remains challenging due to complex processing procedures and high associated costs, which impede further material optimization. To address these limitations, a one-step blending electrospinning strategy was developed by formulating a TPU/PDMS blend system, achieving homogeneous nanoscale dispersion and integration. Using nanofiber diameter and morphology as metrics, we systematically explored the effects of solution concentration, feed rate, and voltage via single-factor experiments and response surface methodology. Results revealed that concentration and feed rate critically influenced nanofiber morphology. The constructed regression model exhibited strong predictive capability (coefficient of determination R2 = 0.9865, adjusted R2 = 0.9693). Scanning electron microscopy characterization confirmed the formation of uniform, adhesive overlapped structures, validating the effective co-forming behavior. Furthermore, energy dispersion spectroscopy mapping and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results confirm the nanoscale uniform distribution and physical blending of TPU and PDMS. This study presents an efficient strategy for producing uniform TPU/PDMS blend nanofibers and contributes to the rational design of multifunctional materials with tunable structure-property relationships. The findings enhance the practical potential of electrospinning in flexible electronics, biomedical and intelligent sensing.