Recently graphene-based materials have been exploited widely in graphene-polymer
nanocomposites and hold notable potential for various applications. In this study novel grapheneincorporated Poly(caprolactone)/gelatin nanofibrous web were produced by electrospinning
technique using acetic acid as a cost-effective eco-friendly solvent. Response surface
methodology was used for optimizing the diameter of the electrospun nanofibrous web. To tailor
electrospun nanofibers with suitable mechanical and electrical properties, the impact of affecting
electrospinning parameters was studied. Our results show that, with increasing the PCL/gelatin
ratio, the diameter of nanofibers increases, whereas increasing graphene concentration decreased
the diameter of nanofibers up to an optimum content. With the incorporation of 1.5%graphene
into PCL/gelatin matrix the tensile strength and Young modulus of nanofibrous mat considerably
increased by 117 and 128% respectively. The electrical conductivity results demonstrated that
nanofibrous mats own nearly 11 times higher conductivity than that of PCL/gelatin nanofibers
when the graphene concentration reached the percolation threshold. Contact angle measurements
confirmed that graphene-incorporated electrospun nanofibers were more hydrophilic than that of
neat nanofibrous mats. Cellular toxicity results of electrospun nanofibers ascertained almost no
toxicity to PC12 cells. The morphology of electrospun nanofibers was investigated by means of
scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FTIR and DSC analysis revealed that there might be
possible interactions between graphene and PCL/gelatin matrix. XRD analysis demonstrated that
graphene-incorporated PCL/gelatin nanofibers exhibited higher crystallinity. The uniform
dispersion of graphene nanosheets in nanofibrous mat was also verified through Raman
spectroscopy.