Preparation of poly(vinyl alcohol) platinum-ruthenium nanoparticle nanocomposite nanofibers

Abstract

In past years, many polymers have been applied to electrospinning as pure nanofibers. Interestingly, it has been reported that metal nanoparticles have been incorporated into polymer nanofibers by this process. In this study, Poly (vinylalcohol) (PVA) nanofibers containing Platinum (Pt) and Ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticles were prepared by chemical reduction and electrospinning. PVA was used as both a stabilizer to prevent Pt-Ru nanoparticle agglomeration and as the template for fiber formations. The Pt-Ru precursors in a PVA aqueous solution were investigated by UV-visible spectrophotometer. The UV absorption peaks of Pt and Ru disappeared as soon as the Pt and Ru precursors were reduced to metallic Pt and Ru. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to study the morphology of the PVA/Pt-Ru nanofibers and distribution of the Pt-Ru nanoparticles. It was found that the average diameter of the fibers decreased with increasing amounts of Pt-Ru precursors. The Pt-Ru nanoparticle size distribution was in the range of 2 to 5 nm. The platinum and ruthenium existence was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray and X-ray diffraction techniques. Moreover, the interactions between the as-formed Pt-Ru nanoparticles and PVA matrix were studied by FTIR spectroscopy.