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Published on: October 21, 2009
Electrospun MEH-PPV/SBA-15 composite nanofibers using a dual syringe method
Sudha Madhugiri1, Alan Dalton, Jose Gutierrez
1Department of Chemistry and The UTD NanoTech Institute, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75083-0688, USA.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|November 20, 2003
Summary
Electrospinning creates novel composite fibers using polymers and molecular sieves. These fibers exhibit a unique blue-shifted fluorescence, paving the way for new optical materials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Spectroscopy
Background:
- Electrospinning is a versatile technique for producing polymer and textile fibers in the nanometer to micron range.
- Mesoporous molecular sieve fibers have been successfully synthesized in our laboratory.
- Previous work has not explored the creation of interwoven meshes of polymer-molecular sieve composite fibers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To extend the electrospinning technique for fabricating interwoven meshes of polymer-molecular sieve composite fibers.
- To investigate the optical properties of these novel composite materials.
- To characterize the structure and fluorescence behavior of the resulting fibers.
Main Methods:
- Electrospinning of a polymer (MEH-PPV) and a molecular sieve (SBA-15) to form composite fibers.
- Microscopy techniques for fiber morphology analysis.
- Vibrational spectroscopy (e.g., FTIR) for chemical composition assessment.
- Fluorescence spectroscopy to study optical properties.
Main Results:
- Successfully produced interwoven meshes of polymer-molecular sieve composite fibers.
- Observed a significant blue shift in the fluorescence emission of the polymer (MEH-PPV) within the composite fibers.
- Characterized the morphology and chemical structure of the composite fibers.
Conclusions:
- Electrospinning is effective for creating polymer-molecular sieve composite fibers with interwoven mesh structures.
- The incorporation of SBA-15 into MEH-PPV fibers alters the photophysical properties of the polymer, causing a blue shift in fluorescence.
- These findings suggest potential applications for these composite fibers in areas requiring tailored optical properties.
