Preparation of porous nanofibers from electrospun polyacrylonitrile/calcium carbonate composite nanofibers using porogen leaching technique

Abstract

Abstract Production of nanofibrous polyacrylonitrile/calcium carbonate (PAN/CaCO 3 ) nanocomposite web was carried out through solution electrospinning process. Pore generating nanoparticles were leached from the PAN matrices in hydrochloric acid bath with the purpose of producing an ultimate nanoporous structure. The possible interaction between CaCO 3 nanoparticles and PAN functional groups was investigated. Atomic absorption method was used to measure the amount of extracted CaCO 3 nanoparticles. Morphological observation showed nanofibers of 270–720 nm in diameter containing nanopores of 50–130 nm. Monitoring the governing parameters statistically, it was found that the amount of extraction (ε) of CaCO 3 was increased when the web surface area ( a ) was broadened according to a simple scaling law (ε = 3.18 a 0.4 ). The leaching process was maximized in the presence of 5% v/v of acid in the extraction bath and 5 wt % of CaCO 3 in the polymer solution. Collateral effects of the extraction time and temperature showed exponential growth within a favorable extremum at 50°C for 72 h. Concentration of dimethylformamide as the solvent had no significant impact on the extraction level. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2013