Influence of Solution Properties and Process Parameters on the Formation and Morphology of YSZ and NiO Ceramic Nanofibers by Electrospinning.
The fabrication process of ceramic yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and nickel oxide nanofibers by electrospinning is reported. The preparation of hollow YSZ nanofibers and aligned nanofiber arrays is also demonstrated. The influence of the process parameters of the electrospinning process, the physicochemical properties of the spinning solutions, and the thermal treatment procedure on spinnability and final microstructure of the ceramic fibers was determined. The fiber diameter can be varied from hundreds of nanometers to more than a micrometer by controlling the solution properties of the electrospinning process, while the grain size and surface roughness of the resulting fibers are mainly controlled via the final thermal annealing process. Although most observed phenomena are in qualitative agreement with previous studies on the electrospinning of polymeric nanofibers, one of the main differences is the high ionic strength of ceramic precursor solutions, which may hamper the spinnability. A strategy to control the effective ionic strength of precursor solutions is also presented.
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands. gerard.cadafalch@eurekite.com.
Gerard
G
Cadafalch Gazquez
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands. v.smulders@utwente.nl.
Vera
V
Smulders
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands. sveldhuis@ntu.edu.sg.
Sjoerd A
SA
Veldhuis
Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology Inspired Regenerative Medicine, University of Maastricht, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands. p.wieringa@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
Paul
P
Wieringa
Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology Inspired Regenerative Medicine, University of Maastricht, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands. l.moroni@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
Lorenzo
L
Moroni
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands. b.a.boukamp@utwente.nl.
Bernard A
BA
Boukamp
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands. j.e.tenelshof@utwente.nl.
Johan E
JE
Ten Elshof
NiO; YSZ; alignment; electrospinning; microstructure; nanofiber; nickel oxide; spinning process; yttria-stabilized zirconia