Processing–Structure–Property
Correlations
of Polyethersulfone/Perfluorosulfonic Acid Nanofibers Fabricated via
Electrospinning from Polymer–Nanoparticle Suspensions
- Publication date
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Abstract
Polyethersulfone (PES)/perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA)
nanofiber
membranes were successfully fabricated via electrospinning method
from polymer solutions containing dispersed calcium carbonate (CaCO<sub>3</sub>) nanoparticles. ATR-FTIR spectra indicated that the nanoparticles
mainly existed on the external surface of the nanofibers and could
be removed completely by acid treatment. Surface roughness of both
the nanofibers and the nanofiber membranes increased with the CaCO<sub>3</sub> loading. Although FTIR spectra showed no special interaction
between sulfonic acid (−SO<sub>3</sub>) groups and CaCO<sub>3</sub> nanoparticles, XPS measurement demonstrated that the content
of −SO<sub>3</sub> groups on external surface of the acid-treated
nanofibers was enhanced by increasing CaCO<sub>3</sub> loading in
solution. Besides, the acid-treated nanofiber membranes were performed
in esterification reactions, and exhibited acceptable catalytic performance
due to the activity of −SO<sub>3</sub>H groups on the nanofiber
surface. More importantly, this type of membrane was very easy to
separate and recover, which made it a potential substitution for traditional
liquid acid catalysts