Nanostructures and surface nanomechanical properties of polyacrylonitrile/graphene oxide composite nanofibers by electrospinning

Abstract

In this work, polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/graphene oxide (GO) composite nanofibers were prepared by a facile compounding and electrospinning processes. A small amount of GO powders were first dispersed in N,N-dimethylformamide by sonication, and then, PAN powders were added to prepare an electrospinning solution. The surface morphology was analyzed by atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, whereas the chemical properties of the PAN and PAN/GO composite nanofibers were compared by infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Also, lateral force microscopy and force-distance curves (FDC) were employed to investigate the surface properties, such as friction force and elasticity. The experimental results indicate that with increasing GO concentration, the surface friction force and adhesive force increased, so the nanofibers showed promise for applications as supports for enzyme immobilization. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.