Fabrication of Electrospun Exfoliated Graphite Nanosheets/Polystyrene composite nanofiber mats

The present study is an attempt to fabricate composite nanofiber mats from polystyrene (PS) loaded with exfoliated graphite nanosheets (EGNS) by using electrospinning technique. EGNS with different weight ratios of 3, 6, and 9 wt.% were added to PS (20 wt.%). The fiber diameter and morphology of the composite nanofiber mats were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results revealed that as EGNS concentration was increased, the average diameter of EGNS/PS electrospun nanofibers decreased. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to investigate the thermal properties. The tensile strengths and Young's modulus of the composites improve with the increasing EGNS concentrations compared to PS nanofiber, which indicates 84% and 88% augmentation, respectively at 6 wt.% of EGNS. Also, the addition of EGNS increased thermal stability of composite nanofiber mats.

Automated summary

In this study, composite nanofiber mats made of polystyrene loaded with exfoliated graphite nanosheets were successfully fabricated using electrospinning technique. The addition of graphite nanosheets improved the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the nanofiber mats. The results showed that as the concentration of graphite nanosheets increased, the diameter of the nanofibers decreased, and the tensile strength and Young's modulus of the composites increased significantly.