Sharif Digital Repository

We present fabrication, characterization, and experimental results describing electrical actuation and readout of the mechanical vibratory response of electrospun ZnO nanofibers. For a fiber with an approximate radius of 200 nm and a length of 70 ìm, a resonance frequency around 3.62 MHz with a quality factor (Q) of about 235 in air at ambient conditions is observed. It is shown that the measured frequency of the resonance is consistent with results from finite element simulations. Also, the measurements were performed in an enclosed chamber with controlled levels of ethanol vapor. The adsorption of ethanol causes a shift in the resonance frequency of the fibers, which can be related to the... 

A magnetic polyurethane (PU) nanocomposite was synthesized by an electrospinning technique and applied for isolation and preconcentration of fluoxetine from aquatic and biological samples. The nanocomposite was electrospun using a PU polymer solution containing the dispersed magnetic nanoparticles. The magnetic properties of iron nanoparticles, along with the use of an electrospinning technique, led to the formation of a suitable sorbent toward isolation of fluoxetine. The magnetic PU nanofibers could be subsequently removed from the sample solution by applying a permanent magnet. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of the magnetic PU nanofibers confirms that their diameters are in... 

(ZnO)1-x(CdO)x nanofibers were fabricated via electrospinning of polymer precursor by subsequent annealing in air. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) showed the smooth and beadless nanofibers and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed the ZnO hexagonal and the CdO cubic structure. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) showed the band gap energy reduction by increasing the amount of CdO in (ZnO)1-x(CdO)x nanofibers that resulted in the photocatalytic activity under the visible light for dye degradation. Under the UV light CdO acted as both electron and hole sink in the (ZnO) 1-x(CdO)x nanofibers and a possible photocatalytic activity... 

Titanium(IV) tetraisopropoxide was employed as a metal oxide sol-gel precursor to prepare ceramic composite nanofibers by the electrospinning system. To facilitate this process and obtain the desired nanofibers with higher aspect ratios and surface area, poly(vinylpyrrolidone) was added to the sol of titania. Four ceramic nanofibers sheets based on titania were prepared while each sheet contained different transition metals such as Fe-Mn, Fe-Ni, Fe-Co, and Fe-Mn-Co-Ni. The scanning electron microscope images showed good homogeneity for all the prepared ceramic composites with a diameter range of 100-250 nm. The sorption efficiency was investigated by a micro-solid-phase extraction setup in... 

A solution of polyamide (PA) containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a side low-molecular-weight polymer was electrospun. After synthesizing the PA-PEG nanofibers, the constituent was subsequently removed (modified PA) and confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The scanning electron microscopy images showed an average diameter of 640 and 148 nm for PA and PA-PEG coatings, respectively, while the latter coating structure was more homogeneous and porous. The extraction efficiencies of PA, PA-PEG, and the modified PA fiber coatings were assayed by headspace solid-phase microextraction of a number of chlorophenols from real water samples followed by their determination by gas... 

The effects of applied magnetic and electric fields on electrospinning were investigated to produce more efficient nanofibers. Considering the previous extensive studies, polyamide nanofibers were prepared by a conventional approach and under auxiliary electric and magnetic fields. The first sorbent was synthesized by electrospinning of a solution of 18% polyamide in formic acid. The second and third types of polyamide were prepared similarly while the electrospinning processes were assisted by an electric and a magnetic field. The third type of polyamide contained a magnetic ionic liquid (MIL) to induce sufficient magnetic susceptibility in the polymeric solution. The SEM images revealed... 

An on-line extraction/determination set up was designed for micro solid-phase extraction of clodinafop propargyl from water, soil and wheat samples using electrospun polyamide nanofiber mats. The prepared mats were packed in a stainless steel tube which conveniently acted as a high-performance liquid chromatography injection loop. Influential parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were optimized using a distilled water sample fortified with 25 μg L-1 of clodinafop propargyl. An enrichment factor of 440 was achieved for clodinafop propargyl indicating the ability of the whole procedure. Under the optimum conditions, the linearity for the analyte was in the range of 6-700 μg L-1, while... 

In this work, a comparative study of hybrid solar cells based on P3HT and TiO2 nanofibers was accomplished. Electrospinning, a low cost production method for large area nanofibrous films, was employed to fabricate the organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells based on poly (3-hexylthiophene) and TiO2 nanofibers. The performance of the hybrid solar cells was analyzed for four density levels of TiO2 nanofibers which resulted in the average power conversion efficiency of about 0.0134% under AM 1.5 simulated illuminations (100 mWcm-2). It is found that the higher densities of TiO2 lead to more interface area and generating exciton, so the power conversion efficiency will be increased till the active... 

A novel electrochemical sensor for clonazepam (CLNP) was fabricated based on immobilizing cellulose nanofibers/carbon nanoparticles (CNFs/CNPs) nanocomposite on glassy carbon electrode (CNFs/CNPs/GCE). The combination of CNFs and CNPs produced a novel kind of structurally uniform and electro-analytically active nanocomposite. The surface morphology of CNFs/CNPs layer deposited onto glassy carbon electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The results of the voltammetric investigations showed a considerable enhancement in the cathodic peak current of CLNP (up to 60 times) on the surface of CNFs/CNPs/GCE relative to the bare GCE. Under the optimal conditions, the modified... 

A high-temperature-resisant solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was prepared based on polyetherimide (PEI) by the electrospinning method. The PEI polymeric solution was converted to nanofibers using high voltages and directly coated on a stainless steel SPME needle. The scanning electron microscopy images of PEI coating showed fibers with diameter range of 500-650 nm with a homogeneous and smooth surface morphology. The SPME nanofibers coating was optimized for PEI percentage, electrospinning voltage, and time. The extraction efficiency of the coating was investigated for headspace SPME of some environmentally important polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from aqueous samples followed by... 

Pd doped WO3 fibers were synthesized by electro-spinning. The sol gel method was employed to prepare peroxopolytungstic acid (P-PTA). Palladium chloride and Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) was dissolved in the sol Pd:WO3 = 10% molar ratio. The prepared sol was loaded into a syringe connected to a high voltage of 18.3 kV and electrospun fibers were collected on the alumina substrates. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques were used to analyze the crystal structure and chemical composition of the fibers after heat treatment at 500 °C. Resistance-sensing measurements exhibited a sensitivity of about 30 at 500 ppm... 

Novel ZnO-carbon and ZnO nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning of polymer precursor followed by subsequent annealing in nitrogen and air, respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated the smooth and beadless nanofibers with wurtzite crystal structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed the presence of oxygen vacancies (VO) and chemisorbed O2 on the surface of the samples. Band gap narrowing of the ZnO-carbon nanofibers in comparison to ZnO were measured by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Photo-degradation of azo dye under the UV and visible light was evaluated and ZnO-carbon showed an enhancement in... 

In this paper, for obtaining an overall size-dependent yield function for nanocomposites containing aligned cylindrical nanofibers, the effects of interface residual stress and interface elasticity are taken into account within a micromechanical framework. Toward this goal, the modified Hill's condition is used, and then, in order to consider effects of the interface residual stress, strains are decomposed into two parts, a part due to the external loadings and the other due to the interface residual stress. Next, utilizing the field fluctuation method, an overall yield function containing effective elastic constants of the material is derived and then simplified for practical loading... 

Nanofiber membranes were fabricated by electrospinning poly(vinylidene fluoride). The electrospun nanofiber membranes were further modified by grafting of acrylic acid (AA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) over the surfaces of the membranes. Plasma AA graft was attempted only, and the results indicated the partial membrane pore filling with grafted AA. For MAA grafting, chemically induced polymerization using benzoyl peroxide and hydrogen peroxide was attempted. The combination of plasma and chemically induced MAA graft polymerization was also attempted. The membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and static contact angle (SCA)... 

In this work two phenol biosensors, one based on polyaniline nanofibers (PNFs) and the other based on the newly created and introduced linear-dendritic matrix of poly(citric acid)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) copolymers (PCA-PEG-PCA), were chemically modified with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme. These phenol biosensors showed an oxidation peak at 0.55 V. The amperometric response for biosensors based on PNFs showed a linear response range from 2.5 × 10-6 to 2.5 × 10-5 mol/L, with a detection limit of 2.5 M phenol. Also, the amperometric response for a biosensor based on PCA-PEG-PCA showed a linear response range from 2.5 × 10-6 to 4 × 10-5 mol/L, with a detection limit of 1.5 M phenol  

Multi wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) doped ZnO nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning for the first time. We have successfully demonstrated the photocatalytic activity of doped nanofibers under visible light. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the diameter of MWCNT-doped ZnO nanofibers varied from 120 to 300 nm without agglomeration of MWCNT. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies proved the formation of ZnO bond and wurtzite structure with smaller crystal size in doped nanofibers. Raman spectra demonstrated slight shift in bond position after nanofiber doping, indicating the chemical bond between MWCNT and ZnO. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy... 

In this paper, the scattering of anti-plane shear waves in an infinite matrix containing a multi-coated nanofiber/nanotube is studied. Based on the fact that the surface to volume ratio for nano-size objects increases, the usual classical theories which generally neglect the surface/interface effects fail to provide reasonable results. Therefore, to analyze the problem the wave-function expansion method is coupled with the surface/interface elasticity theory. In order to provide some quantitative results through consideration of several examples, the knowledge of the relevant surface and/or interface properties of the corresponding constituent materials are required. For this reason, part of... 

A novel solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was fabricated by electrospinning method in which a polymeric solution was converted to nanofibers using high voltages. A thin stainless steel wire was coated by the network of polymeric nanofibers. The polymeric nanofiber coating on the wire was mechanically stable due to the fine and continuous nanofibers formation around the wire with a three dimensional structure. Polyamide (nylon 6), due to its suitable characteristics was used to prepare the unbreakable SPME nanofiber. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of this new coating showed a diameter range of 100-200nm for polyamide nanofibers with a homogeneous and porous surface... 

A headspace adsorptive microextraction technique was developed using a novel polyaniline-nylon-6 (PANI-N6) nanofiber sheet, fabricated by electrospinning. The homogeneity and the porosity of the prepared PANI-N6 sheet were studied using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nanofibers diameters were found to be around 200nm. The novel nanofiber sheet was examined as an extracting medium to isolate some selected chlorobenzenes (CBs), as model compounds, from aquatic media. The extracted analytes were desorbed using μL-amounts of solvent and eventually an aliquot of extractant was injected into gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Various parameters affecting the extraction and... 

A novel method based on microextraction in packed syringe (MEPS) as sample preparation technique coupled off-line with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was developed using electrospun nanofibers as sorbent. For electrospinning of polypyrrole/polyamide-based nanofiber, a homogeneous solution containing nylon 6, ferric chloride and pyrrole monomer was prepared and then was drawn into a 2.5-mL syringe. By applying a voltage of 13akV between the needle of the syringe and an aluminum-foil collector, the nanofibers could be formed on the surface of the collector. The prepared sheet was used as the sorbent for MEPS to analyze some selected organophosphorous pesticides. Important parameters...