Systematic investigation on electrospun nanofibrous composite membrane of Zno/polymer for UV sensor superhydrophobic and antibacterial application

Abstract

One dimensional nanofibers have attracted considerable attention due to their remarkable properties such as high surface area to volume ratio, extremely long length, small fiber diameters and pore size as well as their potential technological applications in many areas including optoelectronic devices, solar cells, sensors and in biomedical applications etc. Electrospinning technique has been widely recognized as a simple and versatile method for the preparation of one-dimensional nanofibers. The morphology and properties of the nanofibers prepared by electrospinning depend on the processing parameters such as viscosity, strength of electric field, the distance between the spinneret and the collector and feeding rate of the solution. Over the past few decades, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) has been recognized as one of the most important functional materials because of its wide band gap of 3.37 eV and high exciton binding energy at room temperature. Recent years have turned much attention on the preparation of composites of nanoparticles and polymers with excellent luminescent and electrical properties. Dispersing nanoparticles in polymer matrices has one of the notable techniques to stabilize the nanoparticles and further adjoin the fruitful properties and functionalities of the nanoparticles and the polymers. Diverse approaches such as spin coating, film casting, etc., have been employed to obtain films of nano composites. However, hindrances related to these methods include aggregation and random distribution of agglomerated nanoparticles in polymer matrix. The efficient control of the morphology and the newlinedispersion of particles inhibiting their agglomeration have led to enhanced properties improving the performance of such devices.In this present work, we have maintained our focus on the uniform dispersion of Nanocrystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) in fibrous polymer matrix through electrospinning. Two different approaches, In situ sol gel (ISM) and Direct dispersion method (DDM) have been employed.