Electrospinning of polyaniline-polyacrylonitrile blend nanofibers

Electrospinning of emeraldine base polyaniline/polyacrylonitrile (PANI/PAN) blends with different composition ratios were performed using N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as solvent. The blends were electrospun at various electrospinning temperature and electric fields. Morphology and fibers diameters were investigated by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The average diameter of nanofibers and their distributions were determined from 100 measurements of the random fibers with image analyzer software (manual microstructure distance measurement). Electrical conductivity of the prepared mats was characterized using standard four point probe method. The fibers with diameter ranging from 60 to 600 nm were obtained. The PANI/PAN blends containing up to the PANI content of 30% could be electrospun into the continuous fibrous structure, although pure PANI solution was not able to be electrospun into the fibrous structure. Average of fiber diameter decreased with increasing PANI content and electrospinning temperature. The electrospun PANI/PAN fibers at 50 degrees C and 75 degrees C showed smaller diameters with much better uniformity than those electrospun at 25 degrees C. The electrical conductivity of the mats increased with the increase of PANI content in the blend with percolation threshold of 0.5%.