Three-point bending of electrospun TiO2 nanofibers

TiO2 (anatase) and TiO2/PVP nanocomposite nanofibers with average diameters of 53 and 109 nm, respectively, were synthesized via sol–gel chemistry in combination with an electrospinning process. This produced continuous nanofibers that were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TiO2 nanofibers were obtained through thermal oxidation of TiO2/PVP in air and the weight loss was determined by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Mechanical properties were studied with a nanoscale three-point bending test. Elastic properties of single nanofibers are reported as measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM) three-point bending on a mesoporous membrane as support. The mean of elastic moduli for TiO2 and TiO2/PVP nanofibers were found to be 75.6 and 0.9 GPa, respectively.