Electrospun CuO/PVA fibers: Effects of heat treatment on the structural, surface morphology, optical and magnetic properties

The present study experimentally investigates fabrication of CuO/PVA fibers through a simple electrospinning technique, and then heat treated at elevated temperatures from 550 degrees C to 700 degrees C. A correlation between the physical and chemical properties of the produced sample was investigated by means of XRD, SEM, DRS, and VSM test. The influence of heat treatment on the microstructure properties of the fibers are studied through a Whole powder pattern modeling (WPPM) approach. The morphology features of the prepared samples was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image analysis. Diameter size and distribution of CuO/PVA fibers were found using digimizer software using the SEM images scale bar. The FTIR spectra was used for the chemical composition analysis, indicating the stretching vibrations corresponding to Cu-O. Study on the optical characterization of samples archived through a diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) spectra. The magnetic properties were tested by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The results show that heat treatment would effects on the physical-chemical properties of CuO/PVA fibers.