• Macromolecular Research
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.521-528
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• 2005

Electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers were carbonized with or without iron (III) acetylacetonate to induce catalytic graphitization within the range of 900-1,500$^{circ}C$, resulting in ultrafine carbon fibers with a diameter of about 90-300 nm. Their structural properties and morphologies were investigated. The carbon nanofibers (CNF) prepared without a catalyst showed amorphous structures and very low surface areas of 22-31 $m^{2}$/g. The carbonization in the presence of the catalyst produced graphite nanofibers (GNF). The hydrogen storage capacities of these CNF and GNF materials were evaluated through the gravimetric method using magnetic suspension balance (MSB) at room temperature and 100 bar. The CNFs showed hydrogen storage capacities which increased in the range of 0.16-0.50 wt$\%$ with increasing carbonization temperature. The hydrogen storage capacities of the GNFs with low surface areas of 60-253 $m^{2}$/g were 0.14-1.01 wt$\%$. Micropore and mesopore, as calculated using the nitrogen gas adsorption-desorption isotherms, were not the effective pore for hydrogen storage.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.777-781
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• 2008

In this work, silver nanoparticles-containing polyacrylonitrile (PAN) solutions in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) were electrospun to be webs consisting of nanofibers. The inputted voltage and PAN content in the solution were fixed at 15 kV and 10 wt.% in DMF with 10 cm of tip-to-collector distance (TCD). The PAN/Ag nanofiber webs were stabilized by oxidation at 250 ${^{\circ}C}$ for 2 h in air and carbonized at 1000 ${^{\circ}C}$ for 2 h in $N_2$. The resultant diameter distribution and morphologies of the nanofibers were evaluated by scanning electron microscope analysis. The electrochemical behaviors of the nanofiber webs were also observed by cyclic voltammetry tests. It was found that the presence of silver nanoparticles in carbon nanofiber webs led to the increase of specific capacitance and the decrease of fiber diameters.

• Carbon letters
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.217-220
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• 2009

In this study, porous electrospun carbon fibers were prepared by electrospinning with PAN and $MgCl_2$, as a MgO precursor. MgO was selected as a substrate because of its chemical and thermal stability, no reaction with carbon, and ease of removal after carbonization by dissolving out in acidic solutions. $MgCl_2$ was mixed with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) solution as a precursor of MgO with various weight ratios of $MgCl_2$/PAN. The average diameter of porous electrospun carbon fibers increased from 1.3 to 3 ${\mu}m$, as the $MgCl_2$ to PAN weight ratio increased. During the stabilization step, $MgCl_2$ was hydrolyzed to MgOHCl by heat treatment. At elevated temperature of 823 K for carbonization step, MgOHCl was decomposed to MgO. Specific surface area and pore structure of prepared electrospun carbon fibers were decided by weight ratio of $MgCl_2$/PAN. The amount of hydrogen storage increased with increase of specific surface area and micropore volume of prepared electrospun carbon fibers.

• Carbon letters
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.313-320
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• 2007

In the present study, electrospun PAN precursor webs and the stabilized and carbonized nanofiber webs processed under different heat-treatment conditions were characterized by means of weight loss measurement, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimentric analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The result indicated that stabilization and carbonization processes with different temperatures and heating rates significantly influenced the chemical and morphological characteristics as well as the thermal properties of the stabilized and then subsequently carbonized nanofiber webs from PAN precursor webs. It was noted that the filament diameter and the carbon content of a carbonized nanofiber web as well as its weight change may be effectively monitored by controlling both stabilization and carbonization processes.

• Carbon letters
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.108-114
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• 2008

We have demonstrated the feasibility of using electrospinning method to fabricate long and continuous composite nanofiber sheets of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) incorporated with zinc oxide (ZnO). Such PAN/ZnO composite nanofiber sheets represent an important step toward utilizing carbon nanofibers (CNFs) as materials to achieve remarkably enhanced physico-chemical properties. In an attempt to derive these advantages, we have used a variety of techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) to obtain quantitative data on the materials. The CNFs produced are in the diameter range of 100 to 350 nm after carbonization at $1000^{\circ}C$. Electrical conductivity of the random CNFs was increased by increasing the concentration of ZnO. A dramatic improvement in porosity and specific surface area of the CNFs was a clear evidence of the novelty of the method used. This study indicated that the optimal ZnO concentration of 3 wt% is enough to produce CNFs having enhanced electrical and physico-chemical properties.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.210-217
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• 2022

Boron(B) is a rare resource used for various purposes such as glass, semiconductor materials, gunpowder, rocket fuel, etc. However, Korea depends entirely on imports for boron. Considering the global boron reserves and its current production rate, boron will be depleted on earth in 50 years. Thus, a process including proper adsorbent materials recovering boron from seawater is demanded. This research proposed carbonized nanofibers prepared from electrospun PAN(polyacrylonitrile) mats as promising materials to adsorb boron in aqueous solution. First, the mechanism of boron adsorption on carbonized nanofibers was investigated by DFT(density functional method)-based molecular modeling and the calculated energetics demonstrated that the boron chemisorption on the nitrogen-doped graphene surface by a two-step dehydration is possible with viable activation energies. Then, the electrospun PAN mats were stabilized in air and then carbonized in an argon atmosphere before being immersed in the boric acid aqueous solution. Analytically, SEM(scanning electron microscopy) and Raman measurements were employed to confirm whether the electrospinning and carbonization of PAN mats proceeded successfully. Then, XPS(X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) peak analysis showed whether the intended nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber surface was formed and boron was properly adsorbed on nanofibers. Those results demonstrated that the carbonized nanofibers prepared from electrospun PAN mats could be feasible adsorbents for boron recovery in seawater.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.43 no.4 s.287
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• pp.203-206
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• 2006

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers, which are pH-sensitive and exhibit soft actuation as a linear actuator and artificial muscles, were prepared by electrospinning to investigate the effect of viscosity on the morphology of PAN fibers. Experimental results revealed that higher viscosity is critical for the formation of unbeaded nanofibers because surface tension is almost constant throughout the experiment. Uniform, smooth, and continuous fibers with diameters of about 700 nm were achieved for the 10 wt% PAN fibers at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/h and an electric field of 0.875 kV/cm.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.41-47
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• 2012

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) incorporated polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanofibers were synthesized using electronspinning method. Effects of polymer concentration and applied voltage on the synthesis of PAN and PMMA nanofibers were systematically investigated. The structural characterization of PAN/MWCNTs and PMMA/MWCNTs composited nanofibers synthesized as a function of the MWCNTs concentration was performed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. 5 wt% MWCNTs incorporated PAN and PMMA electrospun nanofiber exhibit best strength and stiffness.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.123-129
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• 2019

Environmental pollution caused by the presence of heavy metal ion from growing industrialization or from leaching is increasing area of concern. There are several area of water purifications but among them adsorption on the functionalized polymer fibers is efficient and cost-effective method. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is exciting polymer due to the presence of excessive functional group which can be easily transformed for metal ion adsorption. PAN can be easily electrospun to prepare nanofiber that have higher surface area leading to better metal ion removal. Composite PAN fiber is yet another type of polymer covered in this review for waste water treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.750-759
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• 2016

The $MnO_2$ electrodeposited on the surface of the carbon nanofiber mats ($MnO_2$-LCNFM) were prepared from electrospun lignin-g-PAN copolymer via heat treatments and subsequent $MnO_2$ electrodeposition method. The resulting $MnO_2$-LCNFM was evaluateed for its potential use in a supercapicitor electrode. The increase of $MnO_2$ electric deposition time was revealed to increase diameter of carbon nanofibers as well as $MnO_2$ content on the surface of carbon nanofiber mats as confirmed by scanning electon microscope (SEM) analysis. The electrochemical properties of $MnO_2$-LCNFM electrodes are evaluated through cyclic voltammetry test. It was shown that $MnO_2$-LCNFM electrode exhibited good electrochemical performance with specific capacitance of $168.0mF{\cdot}cm^{-2}$. The $MnO_2$-LCNFM supercapacitor successfully fabricated using the gel electrolyte ($H_3PO_4$/Polyvinyl alcohol) showed to have the capacitance efficiency of ~90%, and stable behavior during 1,000 charging/discharging cycles.