Electrospun Carbon Nanofibers from Polyacrylonitrile Solution: Influence of Relative Humidity on Morphology and Mechanical Properties

摘要

Effect of relative humidity (RH) on morphology, fiber diameter distributionrnand tensile properties of the as-spun, stabilized and carbonized nanofibers has beenrninvestigated. The nanofibers are produced from 10% polyacrylonitrile (PAN) in N, Ndimethylformamidern(DMF) solution using a homemade electrospinning system. Thernmorphologies of the as-spun nanofibers are varied by changing the relative humidityrn(RH) from 22% to 60% while keeping all other electrospinning parameters constant.rnThe as-spun nanofibers are subsequently stabilized at 260℃ in air for 180 min andrncarbonized at 1000℃ in nitrogen for 60 min. The nanofibers are characterized byrnscanning electron microscope (SEM) while tensile properties are measured byrndynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). It has been found that the RH affects fiberrndiameter, surface morphology, and tensile strength significantly of as spun, stabilizedrnand carbonized nanofibers.