Novel polyarylene ether nitrile nanofibrous mats with fluorescence and controllable surface morphology

A novel series of fluorescent polyarylene ether nitrile (PEN) copolymers were successfully synthesized via nucleophilic aromatic substitution polymerization reaction from 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile, 4, 4-Bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)valeric acid and biphenol. The obtained carboxylated PENs exhibit tunable fluorescent emission depending on the backbone structures of the copolymer. Most importantly, nanoporous mats were fabricated by electrospinning the synthesized PEN copolymers in the presence of water-soluble polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), followed by a selective removing PVP from washing with H2O in postelectrospinning progress. Thanks to their nanoscale porous structures and tunable fluorescent emission, the prepared PEN nano-fibers would find potential applications in chemosensing.