Synthesis and characterization of electrospun polymer nanofibers incorporated with CdTe nanoparticles

CdTe nanoparticles were incorporated in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers by electrospinning. The hybrid nanofibers were characterized morphologically and optically by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The average diameter of the hybrid nanofibers was about 150 nm and the CdTe nanoparticles were present both inside them and on their surfaces. Compared with the PL of the CdTe nanoparticles dispersed in solution, the PL peak of the CdTe nanoparticles in the CdTe/PVA hybrid nanofibers was shifted from 525 to 426 nm. This blue shift of the PL peak results from the different quantum confinement effects, due to the different environment surrounding the CdTe nanoparticles, in the case of those dispersed in solution and those embedded in the PVA nanofibers. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.