Influence of the polymer precursor blend composition on the morphology of the electrospun oxide ceramic fibers

Abstract

This contribution describes the titanium dioxide nano/microfibers preparation by needle-less electrospinning, along with a detailed characterization of the obtained polycrystalline ceramics. Spin dopes made of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), titanium isopropoxide (TTIP), ethanol and acetic acid with different mass ratios were used. It was found that the composition of the solution has a great influence on the morphology and surface area of the final obtained ceramic materials: decreasing of the TTIP concentration leads to the gradual change in the morphology of the formed fibers from round to the ribbon-like ones or complete loss of the fibrous nature along with a decrease of its surface area. Influence of heat treatment temperature on the phase composition and grains size of the final fibers are also described –polycrystalline rutile fibers were obtained at 600 °C. Keywords: Oxide ceramics, Nano/microfibers, Needle-less electrospinning, Titanium dioxide