Electrospun Poly(vinyl alcohol)/α-Zirconium Phosphate Nanocomposite Fibers

Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/α-zirconium phosphate (ZrP) nanocomposite fibers were successfully prepared via the simple and low-cost electrospinning method. In order to obtain the defect-free, uniform polymer nanocomposite fibers, a number of parameters were investigated namely concentration of polymers, feed rate, applied voltage and working distance between needle tip and the fiber collecting substrate. Morphological properties of the nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and smooth and nonwoven mat of fibers were revealed. Strong intermolecular interactions between the PVA matrix and the included ZrP nanofillers were indicated by the attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Incorporation of the ZrP nanofillers also drastically improved the thermal stability of the polymer nanocomposite fibers, which demonstrated clear dependence on both the aspect ratio and loading level of the nanofiller. Furthermore, the viscoelastic properties of the polymer nanocomposite solutions were studied by rheological analysis; the higher loading of the nanofiller resulted in higher viscosity, and showed different fluid nature as compared to the lower loading level.