Electrospun Fibers for Energy, Electronic, and Environmental Applications
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University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK
2011
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-ucin13212994202021-08-03T06:15:05Z Electrospun Fibers for Energy, Electronic, and Environmental Applications Bedford, Nicholas M. Materials Science Electrospinning Polymer Nanofibers Organic Photovoltaics Bioelectronics Photocatalysis water decontamination Electrospinning is an established method for creating polymer and bio-polymer fibers of dimensions ranging from ~10 nanometers to microns. The process typically involves applying a high voltage between a solution source (usually at the end of a capillary or syringe) and a substrate on which the nanofibers are deposited. The high electric field distorts the shape of the liquid droplet, creating a Taylor cone. Additional applied voltage ejects a liquid jet of the polymer solution in the Taylor cone toward the counter electrode. The formation of fibers is generated by the rapid electrostatic elongation and solvent evaporation of this viscoelastic jet, which typically generates an entangled non-woven mesh of fibers with a high surface area to volume ratio. Electrospinning is an attractive alternative to other processes for creating nano-scale fibers and high surface area to volume ratio surfaces due to its low start up cost, overall simplicity, wide range of processable materials, and the ability to generate a moderate amount of fibers in one step. It has also been demonstrated that coaxial electrospinning is possible, wherein the nanofiber has two distinct phases, one being the core and another being the sheath. This method is advantageous because properties of two materials can be combined into one fiber, while maintaining two distinct material phases. Materials that are inherently electrospinable could be made into fibers using this technique as well. The most common applications areas for electrospun fibers are in filtration and biomedical areas, with a comparatively small amount of work done in energy, environmental, and sensor applications. Furthermore, the use of biologically materials in electrospun fibers is an avenue of research that needs more exploration, given the unique properties these materials can exhibit. The research aim of this thesis is to explore the use of electrospun fibers for energy, electrical and environmental applications. For energy applications, fibers consisting of the commonly used organic photovoltaic electron donor/acceptor pair P3HT:PCBM were made by coaxial electrospinning. The inclusion of P3HT:PCBM fibers into an active layer of a organic photovoltaic device led to a ~ 50% increase in power conversion efficiency over a thin film device of identical chemical composition and thickness. The inclusion of biological photosynthetic moieties into electrically relevant conjugated polymers was also explored for electrical applications. Polymeric fibers consisting largely of PEDOT:PSS were doped with thylakoid vesicles from spinach, and were found to act as photo-detectors. Native PEDOT:PSS does not exhibit such properties. For environmental applications, photocatalytic degradation membranes were also created by electrospinning cellulosic fibers which could be used as platforms to efficiently bind the photocatalyst TiO2. Employing different fiber-titania binding strategies, titania nanoparticles of various sizes and band gap configurations were successfully incorporated into mats of non-woven cellulosic nanofibers. These mats were found to successfully degrade dyes and relevant fresh water toxins such as microcystin-LR. 2011 English text University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1321299420 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1321299420 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: some rights reserved. It is licensed for use under a Creative Commons license. Specific terms and permissions are available from this document's record in the OhioLINK ETD Center. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Materials Science Electrospinning Polymer Nanofibers Organic Photovoltaics Bioelectronics Photocatalysis water decontamination |
| spellingShingle |
Materials Science Electrospinning Polymer Nanofibers Organic Photovoltaics Bioelectronics Photocatalysis water decontamination Bedford, Nicholas M. Electrospun Fibers for Energy, Electronic, and Environmental Applications |
| author |
Bedford, Nicholas M. |
| author_facet |
Bedford, Nicholas M. |
| author_sort |
Bedford, Nicholas M. |
| title |
Electrospun Fibers for Energy, Electronic, and Environmental Applications |
| title_short |
Electrospun Fibers for Energy, Electronic, and Environmental Applications |
| title_full |
Electrospun Fibers for Energy, Electronic, and Environmental Applications |
| title_fullStr |
Electrospun Fibers for Energy, Electronic, and Environmental Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Electrospun Fibers for Energy, Electronic, and Environmental Applications |
| title_sort |
electrospun fibers for energy, electronic, and environmental applications |
| publisher |
University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2011 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1321299420 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT bedfordnicholasm electrospunfibersforenergyelectronicandenvironmentalapplications |
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