ZnO Micro and Nanofibers made by electrospinning: Fabrication and Characterization

Abstract

In this study, the best conditions to obtain Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanofibers were studied for further development of a composite with a biopolymer for application in scaffolds. Although the electrospinning of ZnO nanofiber is already known, there are still new aspects to be explored to optimize itsproduction. In this work were prepared six different solutions of poly(vinyl alcohol) -PVA with two different molecular weight, containing ZnO precursor, i.e. Zinc Acetate, using water or a mix of water and alcohol as solvents, and tested to understand how solution characteristics influence the final morphology of the ZnO nanofibres. This paper shows promising results for production ceramic nanofibers by electrospinning since parameters as viscosity, molecular weight, concentration, conductivity and surface tension are well controlled.