Issue 20, 2019

Structural analyses of blended Nafion/PVDF electrospun nanofibers

Abstract

A new type of polymer blend, prepared by electrospinning nanofibers containing the immiscible polymers polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF, 10 wt%) and Nafion® perfluorosulfonic acid (90 wt%), has been characterized experimentally. The internal nanofiber morphology is unique and unlike a normal blend, with individual phase-separated and randomly distributed fibrils of Nafion and PVDF (∼2–7 nm in diameter) that are bundled together and aligned in the fiber axis direction (where the fiber diameter is ∼500 nm). This morphology is retained when fiber mats are hot-pressed into dense films. The physicochemical properties of the electrospun blended fibers are also highly unusual and unanticipated. As shown in this study, each polymer component influences the thermal and structural behavior of the other, especially in the dry state. Thus, dry composite polymer mats and membranes exhibit properties and attributes that are not observed for either pure PVDF or pure Nafion. Experimental results indicate that: (i) PVDF imparts conformational constraints on the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) backbone chains of Nafion, resulting in an increased 21 helical conformation that effects Nafion's water uptake and thermal properties; and (ii) dipole–dipole interactions between PVDF polymer chains and Nafion make the β-phase polymorph of PVDF much more stable at elevated temperatures. Such “reciprocal templating” in electrospun fibers may not be unique to Nafion and PVDF, thus the procedure represents a new method of creating nanostructured multi-component polymer materials with innovative features.

Graphical abstract: Structural analyses of blended Nafion/PVDF electrospun nanofibers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
04 abr. 2019
Accepted
29 abr. 2019
First published
29 abr. 2019

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2019,21, 10357-10369

Author version available

Structural analyses of blended Nafion/PVDF electrospun nanofibers

G. Nawn, K. Vezzù, E. Negro, G. Pace, J. W. Park, R. Wycisk, G. Cavinato, P. N. Pintauro and V. Di Noto, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2019, 21, 10357 DOI: 10.1039/C9CP01891C

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