Preparation and Characterization of Carbon Nanofibers via Electrospun PAN Nanofibers

The paper reports the fabrication and characterization of polyacrylonitril (PAN) nanofibers by electrospinning and further development of the as-spun PAN nanofibers into carbon nanofibers. PAN nanofibers as a precursor of carbon nanofibers with diameters in the range of 180–640 nm were prepared by electrospinning of PAN/DMF solution. The aligned electrospun (PAN) nanofibers first stabilized in air at temperature 290 ᵒC for 2 hr. We also investigated several carbonization procedures by varying final carbonization temperatures in the range from 800- 1000ºC in nitrogen and argon atmospheres and the carbon nanofibers were successfully obtained at 800 ᵒC and 1 hr. Morphologies, structures and thermal properties of PAN, stabilized and carbonized nanofibers were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectrometer (IR), thermal analysis (TGA) and Raman spectroscopy. The results obtained from scanning electron microscopy showed that the nanofibers are unidirectional aligned and after stabilization and carbonization the SEM results revealed that the average diameter of the stabilized PAN nanofibers appeared to be almost the same as that of the as-electrospun nanofibers, while the average diameters of the carbonized PAN nanofibers were significantly reduced, and also scanning electron microscopy did without any gold coating. Key words: Carbon nanofiber;Electrospinning; Stabilization; Carbonization.

کلیدواژه ها:

Carbon nanofiber ، Electrospinning ، Stabilization ، Carbonization