Engineering Surface and Optical Properties of TiO₂-Coated Electrospun PVDF Nanofibers Via Controllable Self-Assembly.

Jianming Yang,Yuying Liang,Zhi Sun,Yuxuan Wang,Huijun Wu,Fuan He

doi:10.3390/nano8090741

Jianming Yang, Yuying Liang + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8090741

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Abstract

Understanding the effect of a porous TiO2 nanolayer on the optical scattering and absorption through electrospun fibers is of great importance for the design and development of advanced optical extinction materials. Based on electrospinning and controllable self-assembly techniques, pure electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) fibers and TiO2-coated ones with different self-assembly cycles were prepared. The effect of TiO2 self-assembly cycles on surface parameters, e.g., thickness, assembled content, and porosity of the TiO2 nanolayer were determined by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. With an increase in the self-assembly cycles, the TiO2-coated electrospun PVDF fibers presented rougher surfaces and greater average diameters. According to the characterized surface parameters, the effects of the controllable self-assembly on the optical refractive index, absorption index, and infrared extinction were investigated to increase the optical properties of electrospun PVDF fibers. The results indicated that an increase of almost 120–130 cm−1 in infrared extinction could be achieved through the controllable self-assembly with only 5.7 wt. % assembled TiO2 content. This is highly efficient when compared with other coating modes. We believe that this study could give some positive guidance in the design of TiO2-coated electrospun fibers for improving their surface and optical properties.

Highlights

Fibrous materials, given their excellent optical extinction capacity, have drawn growing attention in both academic [1,2] and industrial areas [3], and mainly include commonly used fibers and electrospun fibers [4]
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This paper presented the engineering surface and optical properties of TiO2-coated electrospun PVDF fibers through controllable self-assembly

Summary

Introduction

Given their excellent optical extinction capacity, have drawn growing attention in both academic [1,2] and industrial areas [3], and mainly include commonly used fibers and electrospun fibers [4]. Nanoparticles with excellent capabilities of refraction and absorption (e.g., Al, SiC, TiO2) are generally incorporated into the polymer [13,14,15,16,17] to improve the optical extinction capacity such as electrospun PAN-Ag composites [18]. Among these nanoparticles, nano TiO2 presents remarkable superiorities in a large surface area, an ultrafine size, and a strong interfacial interaction [19]. The combination of TiO2 nanoparticles and electrospun fibers have exhibited various potential applications in protective clothing systems, photocatalysis, sensors, and electrodes [20,21]

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