Electrospinning Process and Morphologies, Structures, and Properties of Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol and Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers

The objective of this project is the understanding and further improvements on the fundamental engineering science and technology of electrospinning technique. The research involved four main areas: (1) study the process of electrospinning, (2) electrospin nanofibers from poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly (acrylonitrile) (PAN) solutions, (3) production of carbon and graphite nanofibers, and (4) evaluation and characterization of these nanofibers. Various variables such as voltage, viscosity, and temperature of the surrounding were altered to observe significant changes in the diameter and morphology of the fibers as well as their actual performance. Characterization of the morphology and properties of the carbon nanofibers were performed using SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR, TGA, mechanical testing machine and BET surface area analyzer. A special investigation was dedicated toward increasing the yields of the nanofibers utilizing the air blowing technique. PAN and PVA based carbon fibers collected ranged from 100-300 nm in diameter and had smooth surface areas without any noticeable beads.