Electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers incorporating PEGylated multi-wall carbon nanotube

Recently, the fabrication of polymer composite nanofibers containing multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) by electrospinning has attracted much attention due to their potential advantages for the enhancement of properties such as electrical and thermal conductivity. In order to utilize the superior properties of MWCNT, in this study, MWCNT was covalently grafted with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains and PEGylated MWCNT-incorporated PVA nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning. To do so, MWCNT was firstly chemically oxidized to bear carboxyl groups and successively reacted with PEG molecules in ethanol. The PEGylated MWCNT was mixed with aqueous PVA solution and electrospinning was performed. The degree of surface modification of MWCNT by PEG was thoroughly investigated by FT-IR, XPS and TGA. Compared to the pristine MWCNT, the PEGylated MWCNT was uniformly dispersed PVA nanofibers without agglomeration. Because of the enhanced dispersion of PEGylated MWCNT in PVA nanofibers, the electrical conductivity of nanofibers with PEGylated MWCNT (1.0 wt%) was increased by 4 orders of magnitude compared to that of nanofibers with pristine MWCNT (1.0 wt%).