Synthesis of ultrafine polymer nanofibers

Abstract

The preparation of nanofibers with finer diameters is of great importance to meet the needs of nanomaterials in fabricating nano-devices. The diameter of polydivinylbenzene nanofibers can be reduced from 200 nm to 20–50 nm by adding a very small amount of oleic acid-capped Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles during the polymerization of divinylbenzene. Through ultrasonic disruption and magnetic separation of the nanofiber composites, we can obtain purified ultrafine nanofibers without Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. The ultrafine nanofibers have widespread potential applications in nanomaterials and nano-devices with smaller requirements.