Optimization of electrospinning conditions for magnetic poly (acrylonitrile- co- acrylic acid) nanofibers

Magnetic poly (acrylonitrile-co-acrylic acid) (PAN-co-AA) composite nanofibers with different proportions of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were fabricated using electrospinning technique. Electrospinning conditions like polymeric concentration, applied voltage, feeding rate, working distance, and collector type were explored and optimized to produce ultrafine- uniform size and bead free nanofibers. Electrospun nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Brunauer−Emmett−Teller (BET) isotherms, X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The optimum electrospinning conditions were obtained to be 12wt% concentration, 20 kV voltages, 20 cm tips to collector distance and 0.5 mL/h flow rate. At the optimal operating condition the nanofibers diameter dropped from 359 nm to 74 nm and the specific surface area increased to 12.09 m2g-1 with respect to MNPs content (0 to 40 wt. %). Also, the magnetic property of magnetic nanofibers facilitated the separation of solid phase much easier than nonmagnetic nanofiber.