Investigation of metallic nanoparticle distribution in PAN/magnetic nanocomposites fabricated with needleless electrospinning technique

Abstract

Needleless electrospinning can be used to produce polyacrylonitrile nanofibres, for example, to which magnetic nanoparticles can additionally be added. Such composite nanofibres can then be stabilised and carbonised to produce carbon composite nanofibres. The magnetic nanoparticles have an influence not only on the structure but also on the mechanical and electrical properties of the finished carbon nanofibres, as does the heat treatment during stabilisation and incipient carbonisationThe present study reports on the fabrication, heat treatment and resulting properties of poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN)/magnetic nanofibre mats prepared by needleless electrospinning from polymer solutions. A variety of microscopic and thermal characterisation methods were used to investigate in detail the chemical and morphological transition during oxidative stabilisation (280 °C) and incipient carbonisation (500 °C). PAN and nanoparticles were analysed during all stages of heat treatment. Compared to pure PAN nanofibres, the PAN/ magnetic nanofibers showed larger fiber diameters and the presence of beads and agglomerations. In this study, magnetic nanofibers were investigated in more detail with the aim of detecting undesired agglomerations. Visual observation, for example with CLSM or SEM, does not provide conclusive evidence of agglomerations in the nanofibers. But based on the capabilities of SEM/EDS many different types of samples can be easily analysed where other analytical techniques simply cannot give the fast answer.