Dispersion of sepiolite rods in nanofibers by electrospinning

In the nanotechnology area, electrospinning has been used as a way of dispersing quasi-spherical nanoparticles, to overcome the ubiquitous problems of cluster formation. Here, we report on the first application of electrospinning to include elongated, needle-like nanoparticles in polymer fibers by using sepiolite as a model system. Our results show sepiolite dispersion at the nanoscale along the fiber axis. Potential applications of this work are in the fabrication of nanostructured materials with anisotropic properties. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.