Electrospinning has become the most studied technique in the production of nanofibrous materials. Sodium alginate-based (SAlg) nanofibrous material is used widely in many application fields due to its excellent properties, but it needs to combine with synthetic polymers, such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), to enhance its electrospinability. The electrospun SAlg/PVA nonwoven could be used in many fields; however, it needs some mechanical stability. The focus of this paper is the development of a SAlg/PVA nanofibrous material with improved mechanical properties using a crosslinking agent 1-ethyl-3-(-3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride/N-Hydroxysuccinimide (EDC/NHS) by electrospinning. The obtained electrospun nanofibrous nonwoven was characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), water contact angle, and tensile test. The results have shown that the mechanical properties of the electrospun SAlg/PVA nanofibrous nonwoven were significantly enhanced with the addition of EDC/NHS. Moreover, the electrospun SAlg/PVA-EDC/NHS nanofibrous nonwoven was found relatively stable against the water than the electrospun SAlg/PVA nanofibrous nonwoven. This preliminary report shows that the advanced alginate-based nanofibrous nonwoven is a promising candidate for many application fields such as textile, food, and biomedical.
