Effect of Tio 2 Content and Process Parameters on Electrospun Poly(Acrylonitrile)/Tio 2 Nanofibres

Poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) nanofibres containing variable amounts of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) were successfully electrospun under different conditions to find optimum electrospinning conditions and to investigate the effects of TiO 2 content and electrospinning parameters on the morphologies and thermal properties of PAN/TiO 2 nanofibres. Various amounts of TiO 2 were dispersed separately into PAN solutions. N, N'-dimethyl formamide (DMF) was used as a solvent. Electrospinning parameters such as applied voltage and tip to collector distance (TCD) were varied at a fixed PAN/TiO 2 mixing ratio. The PAN/TiO 2 nanofibres containing different amounts of TiO 2 were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed TiO 2 content and electrospinning parameters have direct influence on the morphologies of PAN/TiO 2 nanofibres. Moreover, the addition of TiO 2 significantly improved the thermal stability of the PAN nanofibres.