Preparation and characterization of silica nanoparticulate–polyacrylonitrile composite and porous nanofibers

In this study, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) composite nanofibers containing different amounts of silica nanoparticulates have been obtained via electrospinning. The surface morphology, thermal properties and crystal structure of PAN/silica nanofibers are characterized using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, wide-angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results indicate that the addition of silica nanoparticulates affects the structure and properties of the nanofibers. In addition to PAN/silica composite nanofibers, porous PAN nanofibers have been prepared by selective removal of the silica component from PAN/silica composite nanofibers using hydrofluoric (HF) acid. ATR-FTIR and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) experiments validate the removal of silica nanoparticulates by HF acid, whereas SEM and TEM results reveal that the porous nanofibers obtained from composite fibers with higher silica contents exhibited more nonuniform surface morphology. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of porous PAN nanofibers made from PAN/silica (5 wt%) composite precursors is higher than that of pure nonporous PAN nanofibers.