Ultrafine polyacrylonitrile/silica composite fibers via electrospinning

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/silica composite nanofibers, in the diameter of 200–300 nm, were prepared by a one-step electrospinning method. The PAN/silica nanofibers were characterized by SEM, TEM, ATR–FTIR and DSC. SEM and TEM images show that beads are formed and silica nanoparticles start to aggregate when the silica content is higher than 2 wt.% in nanofibers. ATR–FTIR spectra and DSC results indicate that there may exist interactions between silica nanoparticles and PAN. The addition of silica nanoparticles also changes the thermal properties of PAN/silica nanofibers.