Characterization of polyacrylonitrile, poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐vinyl acetate), and poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐itaconic acid) based activated carbon nanofibers

ABSTRACT In this study, three different acrylonitrile (AN)‐based polymers, including polyacrylonitrile (PAN), poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐vinyl acetate) [P(AN‐co‐VAc)], and poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐itaconic acid) [P(AN‐co‐IA)], were used as precursors to synthesize activated carbon nanofibers (ACNFs). An ele...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of applied polymer science Vol. 134; no. 2; pp. np - n/a
Main Authors:	Faraji, Sahand, Yardim, M. Ferhat, Can, Dilek Suadiye, Sarac, A. Sezai
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 10-01-2017
Subjects:	Acetates Activation Carbonization copolymers Electrospinning Fibers Materials science Nanofibers Polyacrylonitriles Polymers Precursors thermal properties thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)
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Summary:	ABSTRACT In this study, three different acrylonitrile (AN)‐based polymers, including polyacrylonitrile (PAN), poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐vinyl acetate) [P(AN‐co‐VAc)], and poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐itaconic acid) [P(AN‐co‐IA)], were used as precursors to synthesize activated carbon nanofibers (ACNFs). An electrospinning method was used to produce nanofibers. Oxidative stabilization, carbonization, and finally, activation through a specific heating regimen were applied to the electrospun fibers to produce ACNFs. Stabilization, carbonization, and activation were carried out at 230, 600, and 750 °C, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and porosimetry were used to characterize the fibers in each step. According to the fiber diameter variation measurements, the pore extension procedure overcame the shrinkage of the fibers with copolymer precursors. However, the shrinkage process dominated the scene for the PAN homopolymer, and this led to an increase in the fiber diameter. The 328 m2/g Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area for ACNFs with PAN precursor were augmented to 614 and 564 m2/g for P(AN‐co‐VAc) and P(AN‐co‐IA), respectively. The TGA results show that the P(AN‐co‐IA)‐based ACNFs exhibited a higher thermal durability in comparison to the fibers of PAN and P(AN‐co‐VAc). The application of these copolymers instead of AN homopolymer enhanced the thermal stability and increased the surface area of the ACNFs even in low‐temperature carbonization and activation processes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 44381.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0021-8995 1097-4628
DOI:	10.1002/app.44381