Novel electrospun silica fibres from silatrane

Abstract

Very fine polyvinylalcohol/silatrane composite fibres were successfully prepared using an electrospinning process. These fine composite fibres were converted to silica fibres, with the aim of producing silica fibres having a high surface area to mass ratio. The effects of applied potential, silatrane concentration, and calcination temperature on the morphology of the resulting fibres were investigated. It was found that the number of conjoined fibres increased with increasing silatrane concentration and applied potential, while the morphology of the obtained silica fibres was hardly affected by changes in the calcination temperature. It was also found that the obtained silica fibres were amorphous with the diameter ranging between 250 and 600 nm, and the diameter was found to decrease with decreasing applied potential.