Hierarchical electrospun SiO2 nanofibers containing SiO2 nanoparticles with controllable surface-roughness and/or porosity

Herein we report that hierarchical electrospun SiO2 nanofibers incorporated with SiO2 nanoparticles with fiber diameters being ∼ 500 nm and particle sizes being tens of nanometers were developed through the combination of sol–gel process and electrospinning technique followed by high-temperature pyrolysis; and their morphologies and BET surface areas were examined. The study revealed that the pre-gelation of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in spin dopes was important to achieve the morphological consistence of the electrospun precursor nanofibers and the resulting final SiO2 nanofibers; additionally, SiO2 nanoparticles appeared to be enriched on the fiber surface, while the surface-roughness and/or porosity of the nanofibers could be controlled through adjusting the incorporation amount of SiO2 nanoparticles. The developed hierarchical electrospun SiO2 nanofibers are expected to have important applications in composites (particularly dental composites) as well as catalyst support and adsorption.