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High‐throughput fabrication of carbonized electrospun polyacrylonitrile/poly(acrylic acid) nanofibers with additives for enhanced electrochemical sensing
Author(s) -
Tan Huey Ling,
Sanira Putri Maria Kana,
Idris Siti Shawalliah,
Hartikainen Niklas,
Abu Bakar Noor Fitrah,
Keirouz Antonios,
Radacsi Norbert
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.49341
Subject(s) - polyacrylonitrile , materials science , electrospinning , thermogravimetric analysis , nanofiber , graphene , chemical engineering , carbon nanofiber , carbonization , differential scanning calorimetry , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , cyclic voltammetry , nanoparticle , electrochemistry , polymer chemistry , scanning electron microscope , electrode , carbon nanotube , nanotechnology , composite material , polymer , chemistry , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
Lightweight, polyacrylonitrile‐derived electrodes with different additives were fabricated using high‐throughput nozzle‐free electrospinning. The electrospun precursor nanofibers (PNFs) containing iron oxide, gold nanoparticles, or reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were subjected to oxidative stabilization and carbonization to obtain a carbon‐rich conductive nanofiber structure. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the carbon nanofibers contracted between 11 and 55% while the Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed that the carbon nanofibers were thermally stable. Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry results revealed that the cross‐linking of the chain molecules and cyclization were completed. Next, cyclic voltammetry results indicated that the electroactivity of the modified screen‐printed carbon electrodes was decreased by 85% due to the presence of carbon glue. The modified device presented significant enhanced electrochemical responses with the inclusions of nanoparticles, with rGO showing a 2.13 times higher electroactive surface area, followed by iron oxide (two times) and gold nanoparticles (1.37 times) than the equivalent PNFs.