Comparative Study of the Structural, Mechanical and Electrochemical Properties of Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-Based Polypyrrole (PPy) and Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Electrospun Nanofibers

Abstract

In this study, polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based polypyrrole (PPy) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers (PAN/PPy, PAN/PVDF and PAN/PPy/PVDF) were produced by an electrospinning method and their mechanical and electrochemical properties were compared, resulting in obtaining a composite material that had high mechanical strength and electrical conductivity at the same time. The morphological, structural, mechanical and electrochemical performance of the nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurements, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results indicated that beadless and smooth nanofiber formation was achieved for all of the PAN/PPy, PAN/PPy/PVDF and PAN/PVDF combinations. PAN/PPy/PVDF, containing 80 wt% PAN 10 wt% PPy and 10 wt% PVDF, had the highest BET surface area and the smallest pore size. In terms of mechanical properties, PAN/PPy/PVDF nanofibers (80 wt% PAN, 10 wt% PPy, 10 wt% PVDF) also showed the highest Young Modulus, 36.82 MPa, while that of the PAN/PPy nanofibers was the lowest. Therefore, in terms of physical and mechanical properties, the PAN/PPy/PVDF combination was favored. However, in terms of the electrochemical properties, CV and EIS data showed that the PAN/PPy nanofibers had the highest electrical conductivity among the PAN-based nanofibers.