Fabrication, characterization, and microscopic imaging of Fe₂O₃-modified electrospun nanofibers

Abstract

This study explored the fabrication, characterization, and microscopic imaging of highly porous electrospun nanofibers based on pure and Fe₂O₃ nanoparticle modified polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers. The desired electrospinning mixture comprising polymer and nanoparticles in dimethyleformamide, was prepared. During electrospinning, the precursor solution was injected using a syringe pump. The empirical parameter influences, including nanoparticles dose, polymer weight percentage, and thickness as applied polymer syringe, were studied on the product morphology and uniformity. The products were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results demonstrate that changes in the investigated empirical parameters cause fiber morphology variations and uniformity. Therefore, a strong interaction exists between Fe₂O₃ and PAN. In general, addition of nanoparticles to PAN solution resulted in a decrease in the average fiber diameter compared to pure PAN.