Fabrication of CuZn Nanofibers by Electrospinning Method

Copper and zinc are well known elements with antibacterial effect. So in this research, Cu and Zn (CZ) nanofibers (NFs) were fabricated by electrospinning method using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) for adjusting viscosity. The CZ/PVP precursor solutions were prepared with copper sulfate pentahydrate, and zinc acetate dihydrate. Distilled water was used for solvent and PVP was used to regulate the viscosity of precursor solution. The CZ/PVP NF composites were obtained by electrospinning method using the precursor solution. The average diameter of obtained CZ/PVP NFs was determined by optical microscopy using Motic image plus 2.0 program and was found to be 490 nm. The chemical environment of the obtained CZ/PVP NF composites was investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). After heating the obtained CZ/PVP NF composites at 353 K, the solvent was removed. The characteristic C 1s, Cu 2p, and Zn 2p core level XPS peaks were observed. After calcination the CZ/PVP NF composites at 873 K in Ar environment for 5 hrs, PVP was decomposed at this temperature and CZ NF was obtained. This was confirmed by decreasing the intensity of C 1s.