RESUMO
The incorporation of nanoparticles inside polymeric matrices has led to the development of multifunctional composites necessary to repair human tissues. The addition of nanoparticles may improve the properties of the composite materials such as surface area, mechanical properties, flexibility, hydrophilicity, electrical conductivity, etc. These properties can help in cellular growth, proliferation and/or differentiation. In this work, scaffolds of polycaprolactone (PCL) and reduced graphite oxide (rGO) were built by electrospinning technique. The ratios of rGO/PCL employed were 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1â¯wt%. Two different voltage setup (10 and 15â¯kV) and distance of 10â¯cm were used for electrospinning. Thermal, mechanical, morphological, electrical, porosity and absorption water tests were made to the scaffolds. Samples electrospun at 10â¯kV with rGO showed improvement in mechanical properties with an increase of 190% of Young's Modulus in comparison with sample without rGO. Furthermore, samples electrospun at 15â¯kV showed an important deterioration with the addition of rGO but had an increase in the electrical conductivity and porosity. Overall, the addition of 0.75 and 1â¯wt% of rGO led to a detriment on properties due to formation of aggregates. The voltage on the electrospinning process plays a very important role in the final properties of the nanocomposites scaffolds of PCL-rGO.