Novel fabrication of magnetic thermoplastic nanofibers via melt extrusion of immiscible blends
A novel technique of fabricating magnetic thermoplastic nanofibers by the control of the phase separation of immiscible polymer blends during melt extrusion was presented. The magnetic poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (PVA-co-PE)/Fe3O4 composite nanofibers were prepared via the melt extrusion of cellulose acetate butyrate matrix and PVA-co-PE preloaded with different amounts of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The morphologies of magnetic composite nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The uniform dispersion of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in nanofiber matrixes and crystal structures were confirmed using transmission electron microscopy and wide angle X-ray diffraction. Thermogravimetric analysis was employed to quantify the exact loading amount of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the composite nanofibers. The magnetic measurements showed that composite nanofibers displayed superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature. With increasing content of Fe3O4 nanoparticles, the saturation magnetization of the magnetic composite nanofiber significantly improved. The prepared magnetic composite nanofibers might have found potential applications in the sensors and bio-molecular separation fields. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.