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Electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber: preparation, experimental characterization, organic vapor sensing ability and theoretical simulations of binding energies

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Abstract

In this study, polyacrilonitrile (PAN) nanofibers obtained by electrospinning were directly coated on the surface of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and were investigated for their sensing characteristics against chloroform, dichloromethane and carbon tetrachloride as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). PAN nanofibers were characterized by SEM, DSC, Raman Spectroscopy, and FT-IR and the results indicated that beadless and regular nanofibers with the average diameter of 182.7 ± 32 nm were obtained. Kinetic measurements indicated that electrospun PAN nanofibers were sensitive to the VOCs and they were appropriate for sensing applications of chlorine compounds. The reproducibility of PAN nanofiber sensor was also shown in this study. The results revealed that the diffusion coefficients of VOCs increased with the order carbontetrachloride < dichloromethane < chloroform which was supported by the density functional theory (DFT) simulations that revealed the highest binding energy for chloroform.

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Acknowledgments

We are very thankful to İzmir Institute of Technology Material Research Center for SEM pictures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technology Transfer Office, Usak University, 64200, Usak, Turkey

    Atike Ince Yardimci

  2. Department of Materials Science and Nanotechnology Engineering, Usak University, 1 Eylul Campus, 64200, Usak, Turkey

    Nesli Yagmurcukardes & Yaser Acikbas

  3. Department of Photonic, Izmir Institute of Technology, Izmir, Turkey

    Mehmet Yagmurcukardes

  4. Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Balikesir University, 10145, Balikesir, Turkey

    Inci Capan, Matem Erdogan & Rifat Capan

  5. Department of Food Engineering, Usak University, 64200, Usak, Turkey

    Ozgur Tarhan

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  1. Atike Ince Yardimci
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Ince Yardimci, A., Yagmurcukardes, N., Yagmurcukardes, M. et al. Electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber: preparation, experimental characterization, organic vapor sensing ability and theoretical simulations of binding energies. Appl. Phys. A 128, 173 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-022-05314-5

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