Thermal and Chemical Analysis of Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers Embedded with Nanomaterial

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was electrospun from PAN and dimethylformamide (DMF) polymeric solution containing graphene nanoplatelets in varying weight proportions to make nanofiber composites. The diameter of fibers and surface morphology was determined by scanning electron morphology (SEM). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were employed to conduct thermal analysis. While chemical analysis was done by means of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). No significant difference was observed in glass transition temperature in all samples with and without graphene nanoplatelets. TGA analysis exhibited the stages of thermal breakdown and weight loss in each stage. FTIR spectroscopy was used to determine the chemical bonds and molecular structure.