Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Electrospun Nanofibrous Membranes Synthesis, Characterizations, and their Air Permeability Properties

In the research described here polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) bicomponent nanofibers (NFs) were produced with different PVA content (10, 20, and 30 wt%) by an electrospinning method and tested for air filtration application. Morphological, structural, and physical properties of the PAN/PVA NFs were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) characterization methods. The results showed that regular and beadless PVA NF synthesis was achieved for 10 and 20 wt% of PVA contents. Besides, 10 wt% PVA provided thinner diameter NFs, and the pore size of their membranes was also smaller compared to those of NFs containing 20 wt% PVA. Therefore, PAN/PVA nanofibrous membranes containing 10 wt% PVA with smaller pore size and thinner fiber diameter provided the lowest air permeability.