Study of the Optical Properties of Electrospun PAN/GO Nanocomposites

Abstract

Polymer nanocomposites with unique optical properties are currently one of the materials most desired by the industry. An effective method of producing this type of materials is the method of electrospinning from a solution or melted polymers, which allows to obtain a nanocomposite in the form of a mat composed of nanofibers. This paper describes the process of producing nanofibers from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and composite thin nanofiber mats from PAN with the addition of graphene oxide (GO) particles using the electrospinning method. In addition, the aim of the work was to investigate the influence of process parameters and filler on the morphology and optical properties of the nanomaterial. By changing the configuration of the distance between the nozzle and the collector (10 and 20 cm) and keeping the remaining parameters of the electrospinning process constant, two PAN polymer samples and two PAN/GO composite samples were manufactured. The analysis of the chemical composition and morphology of the obtained materials was performed using X-ray microanalysis (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. In order to examine the chemical structure of the polymer and composite nanofibers, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used. The analysis of the optical properties and the energy band gap of the prepared nanofibers was determined by spectral analysis using a UV–Vis spectrophotometer. The research showed a significant influence of the filler on the morphology.