Synthesis of mullite nanofibres by electrospinning of solutions containing different proportions of polyvinyl butyral

In this paper, the synthesis of continuous mullite (3Al2O3·2SiO2) nanofibres by combination of the sol–gel and electrospinning technique is reported. To find out the optimum viscosity of the electrospinning solution for obtaining the high quality mullite nanofibers, solutions containing different amounts of polyvinyl butyral (PVB, 0–8 wt%) and the precursor sol were prepared for the electrospinning process. The precursor sol was made by using proper amounts of aluminium isopropoxide (AIP), hydrated aluminium nitrate (AN) and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS). Crystal phase, microstructure and thermal decomposition behaviour of the electrospun mullite nanofibres were investigated by conventional methods of analysis. The optimal amount of PVB in the electrospinning polymeric solutions was found to be between 4 and 6 wt% and the mullite nanofibres obtained as such were pure, smooth and uniform with diameter sizes of 85–130 nm after calcination at 1200 °C.