title: In-situ deposition of iron oxide nanoparticles on polyacrylonitrile-based nanofibers by chemico-thermal reduction method.
abstract: Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based nanocomposite fibers were prepared by co-precipitation of different amounts of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in an alkaline medium to get iron oxide impregnated nanofibers. Nanofibers web were prepared from blend solution of PAN containing different concentrations (1, 2 and 3 wt%) of ferrous (Fe2+)/ferric (Fe3+) solution in the 1:2 molar ratio in an effort to further improvement of the porosity and thereby, electrical properties. Electrospun fibers containing various concentrations of iron salts were then treated with KOH solution to produce nanosized magnetite particles in situ within the PAN nanofibers by precipitating Fe2+ ions or mixture of Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions. Such nanoscale particles homogeneously dispersed in PAN nanofibers to form the three-dimensional network structure. The homogeneously dispersed nanoparticles of iron oxide in and on the PAN carbon nanofibers produced the network structure of reasonably well-aligned configuration. Composite nanofibers morphologies and surface properties were discussed utilizing the combined techniques viz., field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), particle size analyzer, surface area and pore size distribution measurements.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Applied Chemical Engineering and Alan G. MacDiarmid Energy Research Institute (AMERI), Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, Korea.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Nataraj
authors.forename: Bo-Hye
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kap Seung
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Hee-Gweon
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Woo