Development of nanofibrous membranes based on polyethylene oxide/polyacrylonitrile/graphene for polymer electrolyte applications

Highly porous fibrous membranesbased on a blend of poly(ethylene oxide) [PEO]/poly(acrylonitrile)[PAN]/graphenenanocompositeswere prepared. Electrospinning of the nanocomposite produced nanofibrous mat with averaged fiber diameter of 277 nm and porosity of 93%. Incorporation of 1 wt% graphene sheets (GS) into the fibrous blend mats effectively increased the tensile modulus, electrical and ionic conductivity of the matrix. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed the lowered Tm and ΔHm of the PEO component in the bi-component fibers, suggesting that the crystallization of PEO was hindered due to the presence of PAN.Moreover, DSC results indicated a nucleation effect of GS on the crystallization of PEO. High porosity and remarkably enhanced ionic conductivity of the produced nanocomposite mats are promising features for their application as electrolytes

Keywords:

Polyethylene oxide , Polyacrylonitrile , Graphene , polymer membranes , porosity , ionic conductivity