Fluorescent Electrospun Quantum Dots/Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) Nanocomposite Fibers

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and its nanocomposites filled with different loading level of the quantum dots (QDs) were prepared by the electrospinning process.  With the photoluminescence from semiconductor quantum dots embedded in the fibers, the electrospun fibers could have many applications ranging from filtration to cell and tissue engineering. The electrospinning conditions including the polymer loading, quantum dots loading, working distance, electric voltage are optimized to obtain the uniform and bead-free fibers. The morphology of the nanocomposite fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal stability was measured by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the rheological behavior of the solutions was tested by the Rheometer.