Successful electrospinning fabrication of ZrO2 nanofibers: A detailed physical - chemical characterization study

Electrospinning fabrication of Zirconia nanofibers was successfully achieved, followed by different thermal treatment. A careful physical characterization study was performed based on the calcination temperature effect, which was confirmed by a wide range of analysis such as SEM, TG-DT analysis, XRD, FT-IR, DRS, VSM, and PL spectra. The morphological characterization of both polymer and ceramic nanofibers was achieved by SEM images through an image analyzing software. The average diameter of the produced nanofibers was estimated below 100 nm after rising thermal treatment temperature. The thermal behavior of the as-spun ZrO2 nanofibers was studied using thermogravimetric analyses (TGA). The whole powder pattern modeling (WPPM) approach using the PM2K package and the Rietveld refinement approach were applied on the X-ray diffraction pattern to get insight into the effect of calcination temperature on the microstructure parameters of nanostructured zirconia fibers. A comprehensive study was done on the chemical properties of the fabricated samples based on the absorption bands using FT-IR spectroscopy. Chemical study shows a good correlation between the XRD and FT-IR findings. The optical properties were investigated using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and room-temperature photoluminescence spectra. An enhancement of PL intensity of the ZrO2 calcined at 800 degrees C could be due to its high crystal quality. The magnetic properties of zirconia nanofibers were investigated by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Room temperature magnetization results showed a hysteresis loop formation, indicating the ferromagnetic behavior of samples. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.