Effect of CNT incorporation on PAN/PPy nanofibers synthesized by electrospinning method

In this study, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) added polyacrylonitrile/polypyrrole (PAN/PPy) electrospun nanofibers were produced. Average diameters of the nanofibers were measured as 268 and 153 nm for 10 and 25 wt% of PPy contents, respectively. A relatively higher strain to failure values (23.3%) were observed for the low PPy content. When as-grown CNTs (1 and 4 wt%) were added into the PAN/PPy blends, disordered nanofibers were observed to form within the microstructure. To improve the interfacial properties of CNTs/PAN/PPy composites, CNTs were functionalized with H₂SO₄/HNO₃/HCl solution. The functionalized CNTs were well dispersed within the nanofibers and aligned along the direction of nanofibers. Therefore, beads formation on nanofibers decreased. The impedance of the nanofibers was found to decrease with the PPy content and CNT addition. These nanofibers had a great potential to be used as an electrochemical actuator or a tissue engineering scaffold.