Non Monotonous Effects of Noncovalently Functionalized Graphene Addition on the Structure and Sound Absorption Properties of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (1300 kDa) Electrospun Mats
Giuseppe Rosario Del Sorbo,
Greta Truda,
Aurelio Bifulco,
Jessica Passaro,
Giuseppe Petrone,
Bonaventura Vitolo,
Giovanni Ausanio,
Alessandro Vergara,
Francesco Marulo,
Francesco Branda
Affiliations
Giuseppe Rosario Del Sorbo
Department of Chemical Materials and Industrial Production Engineering (DICMaPI), University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
Greta Truda
Department of Industrial Engineering, Aerospace Division, University of Naples Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Aurelio Bifulco
Department of Chemical Materials and Industrial Production Engineering (DICMaPI), University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
Jessica Passaro
Department of Chemical Materials and Industrial Production Engineering (DICMaPI), University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
Giuseppe Petrone
Department of Industrial Engineering, Aerospace Division, University of Naples Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Bonaventura Vitolo
GEVEN S.p.A., Via Boscofangone, Naples, loc. ASI, 80035 Nola, Italy
Giovanni Ausanio
Department of Physical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, 80126 Naples, Italy
Alessandro Vergara
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, 80126 Naples, Italy
Francesco Marulo
Department of Industrial Engineering, Aerospace Division, University of Naples Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Francesco Branda
Department of Chemical Materials and Industrial Production Engineering (DICMaPI), University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
Graphene is an attractive component for high-performance stimuli-responsive or ‘smart’ materials, shape memory materials, photomechanical actuators, piezoelectric materials and flexible strain sensors. Nanocomposite fibres were produced by electrospinning high molecular weight Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP-1300 kDa) in the presence of noncovalently functionalised graphene obtained through tip sonication of graphite alcoholic suspensions in the presence of PVP (10 kDa). Bending instability of electrospun jet appears to progressively increase at low graphene concentrations with the result of greater fibre stretching that leads to lower fibre diameter and possibly conformational changes of PVP. Further increase of graphene content seams having the opposite effect leading to greater fibre diameter and Raman spectra similar to the pure PVP electrospun mats. All this has been interpreted on the basis of currently accepted model for bending instability of electrospun jets. The graphene addition does not lower the very high sound absorption coefficient, α, close to unity, of the electrospun PVP mats in the frequency range 200–800 Hz. The graphene addition affects, in a non-monotonous manner, the bell shaped curves of α versus frequency curves becoming sharper and moving to higher frequency at the lower graphene addition. The opposite is observed when the graphene content is further increased.
