Cooperative fabrication of ternary nanofibers with remarkable solvent and temperature resistance by electrospinning

Abstract

Novel ternary organic–inorganic composite nanofibrous mats are successfully prepared by cooperative fabrication via electrospinning. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were chosen as the polymer components, while tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was used as the silicon source. By adjusting the mass ratio of polymer and silica gel, the obtained nanofibers with a mass ratio of 1 : 0.75 exhibit very uniform morphology with an average diameter of 845 nm. Systematic investigations were performed to illustrate the reaction process and internal structure of the nanofibers. The esterification and dehydration between PVA, PAA and hydrolytic TEOS are proposed to form an integrated network structure which makes the ternary electrospun nanofibrous mats more stable compared to pure single polymer and the binary composites. Eight typical solvent (H₂O, DMF, EtOH, THF, MeOH, CHCl₃, n-hexane and acetone) immersion experiments of the nanofibrous mats at varied temperatures (60, 80, 100, 120, 150 and 200 °C) were performed for the study of its solvent and thermal stability. The results show that the prepared ternary organic–inorganic nanofibrous mats exhibit remarkable solvent and temperature resistance (e.g. in DMF at 200 °C). Moreover, the obtained PVA/PAA/SiO₂ nanofibrous mats also present desirable mechanical properties such as malleability with a high breaking elongation. Taking account of the availability of raw materials, easy maneuverability, and the outstanding chemical stability and mechanical properties, such a cooperative fabrication strategy could find great extensibility for the synthesis and application of multiple organic–inorganic composite materials.