Green preparation of electrically conductive solution blow spun nanofibers from recycled polyethylene terephthalate via plasma-assisted oxidation-reduction.

Abstract

Simple and green strategy was described for the development of multifunctional polyester nanofibers (PNFs). Solution blow spinning (SBS) technology was applied to in situ immobilize nanocomposites of polyaniline (PANi) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) into plasma-treated polyester nanoscaled fibers prepared. The polyester nanofibers were prepared from recycled polyethylene terephthalate waste, which was exposed plasma-curing and a REDOX reaction in the presence of AgNO3, aniline, and CH3COONH4. Plasma-catalyzed oxidative polymerization of aniline to polyaniline together with a reductive process of Ag+ to silver nanoparticles led to their enduring insoluble dispersion into the surface of polyester nanofibers. By taking the advantage of the PANi oxidation, AgNPs were precipitated from an aqueous medium of AgNPs. The morphological properties were investigated by various analytical techniques. The polyester fiber diameter was determined in the range of 450-650nm. In addition, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized to examine AgNPs, demonstrating diameters of 4-20nm. The plasma-uncured AgNPs/PANi immobilized nanofibrous film displayed weak absorption bands at 399nm and 403nm upon increasing the concentration of AgNPs. On the other hand, the plasma-cured AgNPs/PANi immobilized nanofibers displayed strong absorption bands at 526nm and 568nm upon increasing the concentration of AgNPs. The AgNP-induced antimicrobial performance and the PANi-induced electrically conductivity were explored. The prepared PNFs showed high UV protection.