Effects of the molecular structure from pitch fractions on the properties of pitch-based electrospun nanofibers

Mesophase pitch was separated into different pitch fractions to investigate the effect of pitch fractions on the properties of their nanofibers prepared by electrospinning. The evolution of different pitch fractions-derived nanofibers during stabilization and carbonization were explored, and the properties of the resultant carbon nanofibers (CNFs) as electrode materials for supercapacitor were compared. Results indicated that the hexane insoluble-toluene soluble (HI-TS) and toluene insoluble-tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble (TI-THFS) fractions had good spinnability due to their narrow molecular weight distribution. Moreover, compared with HI-TS and THF insoluble (THFI), TI-THFS consisted of appropriate aromaticity and branched alkyl groups which promoted the stabilization and carbonization behaviors of its nanofibers, resulting in maintaining ideal fiber morphology of TI-THFS-derived nanofiber due to the mitigation of their exothermic reactions. Meanwhile, the TI-THFS-derived CNFs presented the highest surface area of 543 m² g⁻¹ and exhibited an excellent specific capacitance of 167 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ in 6 M KOH electrolyte.     

Influence of deposited amine-functionalized Si-MCM-41 in polyacrylonitrile electrospun membranes applied for separation of water in oil emulsions

Among several oil/water emulsion separation technologies, the utilization of nanoparticle-decorated membranes with diverse functionalities has received considerable attention in recent years, particularly if the antifouling capacity can be improved. In this article, we propose a new membrane based on surface-hydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile electrospun membranes and/or decorated with amine-functionalized Si-MCM-41 nanoparticles to be used as oil/water emulsion separation treatment and to determine their antifouling ability. X-Ray photoelectron spectrometry, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and toluidine blue O assay, scanning electron microscopy, contact angle measurements for oil under water and thermogravimetry were used for characterizing the membranes and an assay of permeability was developed to quantify the diffusion of oil molecules across the electrospun membrane. The electrospun and/or decorated membranes showed an underwater oleophobic wettability, which can separate oil-in-water emulsions with 87% separation efficiency, results of fouling experiments, evaluated in terms of rejection and flux recovery ratio, exhibited good antifouling ability, but the membrane decoration process did not lead to superior outcomes compared with undecorated membranes.     

中空电极板对狭缝式聚合物熔体微分电纺的影响

研究了电极板中空结构对熔体微分电纺过程的影响,探讨了中空宽度对射流数量、射流间距、纤维直径及均匀性的影响。结果表明:电极板采用中空结构时纺丝模头上所产生的射流数量多于实心电极板,且可有效提高电场击穿电压,验证了中空结构的可行性;电极板采用中空结构后,纤维平均直径及直径均匀性均有明显提高,但随着中空宽度继续增加,射流数量减小,射流间距及纤维平均直径增加且直径均匀性变差,从实验研究结果可知,电极板增加中空结构可提高纺丝效果及质量,但中空宽度不宜过大。     

电纺PANI/PEO纳米纤维传感器制备与应用

采用静电纺丝法制备了聚苯胺/聚环氧乙烷（ PANI/PEO）纳米纤维,研究了电压、接收距离对电纺PANI/PEO纳米纤维直径的影响,对电纺参数进行了优化。通过对电纺接收端的控制,制备了平行纳米纤维阵列,实现了纳米纤维的定向排布;通过对电纺射流沉积次数的控制,制备了PANI/PEO纳米单纤维传感器,并对NH3进行了气敏性测试。结果表明：当电纺电压为20 kV且接收距离为20 cm时,获得的PA-NI/PEO纳米纤维直径为105 nm,且形貌较佳,在此优化参数条件下制备的单纤维PANI/PEO纳米传感器在常温下对低浓度的NH3有良好的线性响应输出。     

碳黑/聚乙烯醇电纺复合纤维的制备与气敏特性研究

通过碳黑(CB)/聚乙烯醇(PVA)混合溶液的电纺,制备了掺纳米CB的PVA复合纤维,用扫描电镜(SEM)观察了它的形貌。CB/PVA复合纳米纤维的形貌取决于混合物中CB的含量。随CB含量的增加,CB颗粒在纤维中的分布逐渐变得均匀;最佳CB/PVA的质量比为3∶10;继续增加CB含量,CB颗粒聚合成团析出,杂乱分布于PVA纤维中。乙醇蒸气测试表明:质量比为3∶10的CB/PVA纤维具有灵敏度高、响应恢复快等特点。     

Superior Thermoelectric Performance of Textured Ca3Co4−xO9+δ Ceramic Nanoribbons

Calcium cobaltite Ca₃Co_4−xO_9+δ (CCO) is a promising p-type thermoelectric (TE) material for high-temperature applications in air. The grains of the material exhibit strong anisotropic properties, making texturing and nanostructuring mostly favored to improve thermoelectric performance. On the one hand multitude of interfaces are needed within the bulk material to create reflecting surfaces that can lower the thermal conductivity. On the other hand, low residual porosity is needed to improve the contact between grains and raise the electrical conductivity. In this study, CCO fibers with 100% flat cross sections in a stacked, compact form are electrospun. Then the grains within the nanoribbons in the plane of the fibers are grown. Finally, the nanoribbons are electrospun into a textured ceramic that features simultaneously a high electrical conductivity of 177 S cm⁻¹ and an immensely enhanced Seebeck coefficient of 200 µV K⁻¹ at 1073 K are assembled. The power factor of 4.68 µW cm⁻¹ K⁻² at 1073 K in air surpasses all previous CCO TE performances of nanofiber ceramics by a factor of two. Given the relatively high power factor combined with low thermal conductivity, a relatively large figure-of-merit of 0.3 at 873 K in the air for the textured nanoribbon ceramic is obtained.     

Cleanable Air Filter Transferring Moisture and Effectively Capturing PM2.5

The lethal danger of particulate matter (PM) pollution on health leads to the development of challenging individual protection materials that should ideally exhibit a high PM_2.5 purification efficiency, low air resistance, an important moisture‐vapor transmission rate (MVTR), and an easy‐to‐clean property. Herein, a cleanable air filter able to rapidly transfer moisture and efficiently capture PM_2.5 is designed by electrospinning superhydrophilic polyacrylonitrile/silicon‐dioxide fibers as the adsorption–desorption vector for moisture‐vapor, and hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride fibers as the repellent components to avoid the formation of capillary water under high humidity. The desorption rate of water molecules increases from 10 to 18 mg min^?1, while the diameters of polyacrylonitrile fibers reduce from 1.02 to 0.14 µm. Significantly, by introducing the hydroxyl on the surface of polyacrylonitrile nanofibers, rapid adsorption–desorption of the water molecules is observed. Moreover, by constructing a hydrophobic to super‐hydrophilic gradient structure, the MVTR increases from 10 346 to 14 066 g m^?2 d^?1. Interestingly, the prepared fibrous membranes is easy to clean. More importantly, benefiting from enhanced slip effect, the resultant fibrous membranes presented a low air resistance of 86 Pa. A field test in Shanghai shows that the air filter maintains stable PM_2.5 purification efficiency of 99.99% at high MVTR during haze event.     

Mechanical and electrical properties of electrospun CNT/PVDF nanofiber for micro-actuator applications

Electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-containing carbon nanotubes (CNT) were prepared for use in fabricating actuator materials. Actuating displacement was measured in an electrochemical environment. The electrospun nanofibers were arranged using a drum-type collector, and morphology was investigated using a field emission-scanning electron microscope. The uniformity of dispersion of CNT in the PVDF nanofibers was monitored by electron probe X-ray micro-analysis. Tensile strength and electrical resistivity results were used as an indication of the state of alignment. The electrospun CNT/PVDF nanofiber sheets exhibited better mechanical and electrical properties in the arranged direction. The efficiency and electrical capacities of electrospun CNT/PVDF nanofiber sheet were compared with those of cast PVDF sheets for use in actuator applications in electrochemical environments. The electrospun CNT/PVDF nanofiber sheets exhibited much better actuator performance than PVDF sheets, which are attributed to their superior electrical properties.

Highlights

(1) The interfacial durability of CNT/PVDF nanofibers was enhanced to increase contact area by reinforcing CNT.

(2) The efficiency of CNT/PVDF actuators was improved due to interfacial properties.

(3) Thin thickness drum-type collector was made to enhance nanofiber alignment.

(4) The arranged CNT/PVDF nanofibers exhibited better mechanical and actuating displacements.