Nanofiber engineering of microporous polyimides through electrospinning: Influence of electrospinning parameters and salt addition
Type
ArticleKAUST Department
Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Research CenterChemical Engineering Program
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division
Date
2020-10-31Online Publication Date
2020-10-31Print Publication Date
2021-01Submitted Date
2020-09-28Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/665848
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The electrospinning of high-performance polyimides (PI) has recently sparked great interest. In this study, we explore the effect of the electrospinning parameters — namely polymer concentration, voltage, tip-to-collector distance and flow rate — and salt addition on the diameter, morphology, and spinnability of electrospun PI nanofibers. Three different polyimides of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-PIs) with high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) ranging from 270 to 506 m2 g−1, and two microporous polyimides, were synthesized through the polycondensation of 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA) and aromatic diamines. The addition of tetraethylammonium bromide (TEAB) salt considerably increased the conductivity of all the PI solutions, significantly improved spinability, and resulted in thinner fibers. We also used molecular dynamic simulations to investigate the macromolecular mechanism of improved spinnability and fiber morphology in the presence of an ammonium salt. The small droplets detached from the parent droplet, followed by the rapid evaporation of the ions through the hydration effect, which facilitated the electrospinning. The resulting uniform nanofibers have great potential in environmental applications due to the presence of microporosity and hydrophobic pendant trifluoromethyl groups, which enhance the sorption performance of the fibers for hydrophobic species.Citation
Topuz, F., Abdulhamid, M. A., Holtzl, T., & Szekely, G. (2021). Nanofiber engineering of microporous polyimides through electrospinning: Influence of electrospinning parameters and salt addition. Materials & Design, 198, 109280. doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2020.109280Sponsors
The postdoctoral fellowship from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is gratefully acknowledged (FT). The research reported in this publication was supported by funding from KAUST. This work was supported by the VEKOP-2.1.1-15-2016-00114 project, which is co-financed by the Hungarian Government and the European Union.Publisher
Elsevier BVJournal
Materials & DesignAdditional Links
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0264127520308157ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.matdes.2020.109280
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