Processing and characterization of electrospun Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ) and Gd2O3-doped CeO2 (GDC) nanofibers

The technique of electrospinning was employed to fabricate uniform one-dimensional (1-D) inorganic-organic composite nanofibers from alcoholic solutions containing polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and suitable aqueous precursors of yttrium and zirconium ions in one case and gadolinium and cerium ions in the other. Upon firing and sintering under carefully pre-selected time-temperature profiles (heating rate, temperature and soak time), ceramic nanofibers retaining the original morphological features observed in the as-spun composition were obtained. Analytical tools, such as simultaneous TG-DSC, Raman spectroscopy and SEM were employed to elucidate the pathway of ceramic phase formation and the systematic evolution of morphological features in the spun and the processed fibers. X-ray diffraction was used to identify the crystalline fate of the final products. It was found that several millimeter long, uniform YSZ and GDC nanofibers of high phase purity could be fabricated.