Study of Electrospun Poly\acrylonitrile (PAN) and PAN/CNT Composite Nanofibrous Webs

The electrospinng of PAN and PAN/CNT composite webs is carried out with the commercially available Nanospider machine. The webs are spun under similar processes and coated on Polypropylene spun bonded nonwoven fabric. This research work reports on the influence of multi-walled carbon nano tube (MWCNT) on the morphology, tensile properties, conductivity, thermal, chemical and crystalline structure of PAN and PAN/CNT composite nanofibrous webs. The morphological developments are explained on the basis of nanofibre diameter and web density as depicted by FESEM images. An addition of CNT greatly affects the morphology of webs, increases fibre diameter, decreases web density and leads to a roughened web surface. The mechanical properties of PAN /CNT composite webs are also found to be influenced by CNT concentration. The addition of MWCNT to PAN enhances the conductive properties of webs. The specific conductivity of PAN/CNT composite webs is found to be in order of 10^-6 S/cm, which falls in the semiconducting regime and follows Ohm's law of conductivity. The TGA plots confirmed that the PAN/CNT composite web is more thermally stable than the PAN web. The presence of CNT in the polymer matrix is evidenced by D and G band, indicating a successful electrospun coating process.