Oriented ZnO nanoflowers obtained after calcination of electrospinning poly(vinyl alcohol)/zinc oxide/zinc acetate composite mats

Abstract

Recently, nanofibers have attracted attention from researchers worldwide because they can be applied in various fields. The obtaining of oriented ZnO nanoflowers from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at a concentration of 10 wt% loaded with ZnO nanoparticles and zinc acetate (Zn(OAc)2) at various concentrations by electrospinning was investigated. The molecular weight of PVA was determined to be approximately 63,547 g/mol. The effects of the Zn(OAc)2 concentration on the electrical conductivity of the polymer suspension and the morphological properties of the composite nanofibers were also determined. The electrical conductivity increased with increasing Zn(OAc)2 concentration as a consequence of greater availability of charge. Also, this is likely because the accumulation of particles might increase the charge, which would result in an increase in the average fiber diameter of the obtained electrospun product. Finally, FT-IR spectra indicated that ZnO and Zn(OAc)2 were merely suspended in the aqueous PVA solution without any chemical bonding of ZnO and Zn(OAc)2 with the PVA chains. They also indicated that PVA could be composed entirely of nanofibers and, simultaneously, Zn(OAc)2 could be converted to ZnO after calcination at 600 °C.