Electrospun polyimide/titanium dioxide composite nanofibrous membrane by electrospinning and electrospraying

Abstract

Fibrous membrane with a fibre diameter of 229±35 nm was fabricated from polyimide solution by electrospinning. Nanofibrous membrane with a fibre diameter of 251±37 nm was fabricated by combined electrospinning and electrospraying for polyimide/TiO 2. Among the different solvents studied, ethanol was the effective solvent for dispersing the TiO 2 nanoparticles in the nanofibrous matrix during electrospraying. The average pore size of polyimide membrane was obtained in the range 0.79-0.89μm whereas the average pore size of polyimide/TiO 2 membrane was found to be in the range 1.23 μm. The tensile stress of polyimide nanofibrous membrane and also polyimide/TiO 2 composite fibrous membrane determined to be 0.36 MPa and 0.65 MPa respectively. Nanofibrous membrane containing TiO 2 nanoparticles on the surface of the polyimide nanofibres improved the mechanical stability of the membrane. Copyright © 2011 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.