Electrospun Nanofibers and their Functionalization
Haider, S . 2012
With contributions of research groups around the world in the last decade, the electrospinning process and its setup has made incredible progress. This technique is now capable of processing a variety of materials (such as organic polymers, composites and ceramics, etc.) not only into fibers with ultrafine diameters, but also to align and form core shell and hollow fibers as well. Therefore, it is not a surprise to many researchers that it has already found applications in many areas such as environmental engineering, biotechnology, defense, energy generation, etc. The electrospun membrane in particular may find great success in water treatment and biotechnology, where the removal of toxic materials and immobilization of cells needs high-surface area materials. In addition to high surface area, the changes in the surface chemistry of the nanofibers may also do wonders to their performance. This chapter presents an overview of the history and mechanism of electrospinning, various methods used for the nanofiber surface modification and the effectiveness of the modified nanofibers in the removal of hazardous material from waste water.
We prepared multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT)/gelatin composites by dispersion of MWNT through ultrasonication in an aqueous medium with anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS).