Development of Al2O3 electrospun fibers prepared by conventional sintering method or plasma assisted surface calcination

In this paper, the electrospinning method was used for preparation of alpha-Al2O3 microfibers from PAN/Al(NO3)(3) precursor solution. The precursor fibers were thermally treated by conventional method in furnace or low-temperature plasma induced surface sintering method in ambient air. The four different temperatures of PAN/Al(NO3)(3) precursors were chosen for formation of alpha-Al2O3 phase by conventional sintering way according to the transition features observed in the TG/DSC analysis. In comparison, the low-temperature plasma treatment at atmospheric pressure was used as an alternative sintering method at the exposure times of 5, 10 and 30 min. FTIR analysis was used for evaluation of residual polymer after plasma induced calcination and for studying the mechanism of polymer degradation. The polycrystalline alumina fibers arranged with the nanoparticles was created continuously throughout the whole volume of the sample. On the other side the low temperature approach, high density of reactive species and high power density of plasma generated at atmospheric pressure by used plasma source allowed rapid removal of polymer in preference from the surface of fibers leading to the formation of composite ceramic/polymer fibers. This plasma induced sintering of PAN/Al(NO3)(3) can have obvious importance in industrial applications where the ceramic character of surface with higher toughness of the fibers are required. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.