Abstract
This paper deals with the dielectric and mechanical characterizations of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-aligned electrospun nanofiber mats. A two factor three level full factorial experiment is conducted to understand the effect of various parameters on dielectric and mechanical responses. These responses are recorded against randomly oriented and aligned nanofiber mats. Improved properties of electrospun mats have applications in the field of energy storage and nanocomposite reinforcement. Dielectric and mechanical characterizations of PAN mats are vital, as the aligned electrospun mats were found to be useful in advanced energy and mechanical reinforcement applications. Therefore, it is paramount to understand the effects of system parameters to these properties. The design of experiment (DoE) includes two factors and three level full factorial experiments with concentrations of PAN solutions at 8 wt.%, 9 wt.%, and 10 wt.%, and speed of the rotating mandrel (collector) at 3 volt (V), 4 V, and 5 V inputs. The electric field intensity used in the experiment is 1 kV/cm. DoE is conducted to understand the nonlinear interactions of parameters to these responses. The dielectric and mechanical characterizations of 8 wt.%, 9 wt.%, and 10 wt.% with different speeds for the original and improved systems are discussed. It was observed that at 9 wt.% and at all mandrel speeds, the dielectric and tensile properties are optimum.
Highlights
Taylor (1964) showed that liquid disintegrates due to instability when subjected to a uniform electric field [1,2]
design of experiment (DoE) is conducted to identify the optimization of processing parameters and materials properties of electrospun fibers [9,10,11,12,13]
PAN powder purchased from Sigma Aldrich Inc, Milwaukee, US with product number 181315 was mixed with dimethyl formamide (DMF) bought from Sigma Aldrich Inc, St
Summary
Taylor (1964) showed that liquid disintegrates due to instability when subjected to a uniform electric field [1,2]. Electrospinning is considered as a powerful technology for the production of nanofibers with diversified architecture and properties [4,5] It has applications in the fields of energy and environment [6] and biomedical [7]. Popkov et al (2013) showed that different concentrations from 8 to 11 wt.% polymer solutions have PAN nanofibers with extraordinary strength, modulus, and toughness [16]. Edmondson et al (2012) demonstrated the capability of their system using PVDF as a model polymer, which has favorable piezo-, pyro-, and ferro-electric properties, and showed that aligned PVDF fibers can provide for applications in actuators, transistors, textiles, and composites [24,25]. Electrospinning is used to increase the specific area, alignment of fibers, and β-phase content for polymorphic materials. In our scope of study, two applications are important, namely specific area for composite reinforcement (PAN is an example for the polymer) and β-phase for energy generation of electrode cells (PVDF is an example for polymer)
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