Conductive polyacrylonitrile/polyaniline nanofibers prepared by electrospinning process

Abstract

Electrospinning of polymer blends solutions offers the potential to prepare novel nanofibers for use in a variety of applications. Conductive blend nanofibers of polyaniline doped with camphorsulfonic acid (PANi-CSA) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were prepared by electrospinning process. The influences of PANi-CSA content on the morphological, electrical conductivity, and mechanical properties of the blend nanofibers were investigated. The SEM analysis of the nanofibers samples revealed that the average diameter of the nanofibers decreases with increasing PANi-CSA concentration. The resultant PAN/PANi-CSA blend nanofibers diameters were in the range of 59 to 234 nm. Tensile results showed that 30 wt% PANi-CSA loading to the electrospun PAN/PANi-CSA blend nanofibers gave rise to 10-fold and 3-fold increase in the tensile modulus and tenacity of nanofiber layers, respectively. The electrical conductivity measurements of these nanofibers could be adjusted from ∼10−10 S/cm (insulator) to ∼10−1 S/cm (conductor) by choosing the different amounts of PANi-CSA between 0 and 40 wt%. The significant enhanced mechanical and electrical properties of these PAN/PANi-CSA blend nanofibers can be utilized for quite promising future electronic applications.