Development of Thermally Enhanced Ultrafine Nanofiber From Polyacrylonitrile/Ethylene-co-vinyl Alcohol Blend Using Solution Electrospinning

The reduction of fiber diameter from micro to nanolevel greatly enhances the surface area, thermal properties, filtration efficiency, reactivity, and overall functionality. Using a blend of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol (EVOH), solution electrospinning was employed to develop ultrafine nanofibers with a diameter of a few hundred nanometers. The impact of different weight percentages of EVOH blended with PAN on fiber diameters was studied. Fiber diameters drastically decreased with higher EVOH content in the blend, and a slight reduction was observed following isopropyl alcohol (IPA) treatment. The initial diameters of PAN-incorporated EVOH (POH) nanofibers were between 880 and 47 nm, which were reduced to 719 and 41 nm after IPA treatment. The smallest diameter of 102 nm was achieved by POH nanofibers with 75% EVOH after IPA treatment. Furthermore, the thermal properties demonstrate a synergistic effect with the melting temperature increasing from 290°C for pure PAN to 301°C for POH nanofiber with 75% EVOH. The fabricated ultrafine nanofibers with enhanced thermal properties can be applied in advanced air and water filtration systems.