This study presents the synthesis of chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) using a microfluidic device. Microfluidic rapid mixing enables fast nucleation for small-sized nuclei, but a high PDI value like 0.956 shows uncontrollable growth of small nuclei, resulting in the formation of larger and more variable aggregates at room temperature. High temperatures play a key role in controlling the growth of CSNPs to enhance uniformity. Temperatures of 40 °C and 50 °C promote controlled interactions among small nuclei, while increasing the temperature to 80 °C further accelerated the curing process, suitable for synthesizing CSNPs with various sizes. At 80 °C, size regulation can be achieved by changing the TPP concentration, which controls surface curing and affects the size as well. These results emphasize the impact of elevated temperature and precise TPP concentration for product quality control and modulation in CSNPs’ synthesis.
The electrospinning process allows the production of nanofibers from polymer solutions, making them suitable for various applications such as sensors, electronic devices, conductive materials, and advanced composites for high-temperature environments. In this research, polyaniline (PANI) was doped with camphor sulfonic camphor sulfonic acid (HCSA). HCSA dopant is used to modify the electrical and structural properties of polyaniline. To introduce reduced graphene oxide as a nanofiller to enhance the electrical properties of the polymer. Both the HCSA-doped PANI and HCSA-doped PANI with rGO nanofibers were electro-spun separately to create individual nanofibers. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was used to investigate the chemical composition and functional groups present in the nanofibers. Field emission scanning electron microscopy was employed to study the nanofibers’ morphology, structure, and surface characteristics. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to assess the thermal stability of the nanofibers and to approximate the content of rGO. These results indicate that the addition of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) led to improvements in the nanofibers’ electrical conductivity and thermal stability.
20 November 2023 in Zeitschrift für Naturforschung A
The study intended to enhance the visible light activity of titanium dioxide (TiO2) by doping it with carbon, thereby reducing its effective band gap. Carbon-doped TiO2 nanofibers were synthesized using a simple electrospinning process. The prepared samples were then characterized to investigate their properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the presence of the rutile phase of TiO2 in the nanofibers. The XRD pattern exhibited maximum peak intensity at the highest temperature used during synthesis, indicating that the temperature influenced the crystalline structure of the nanofibers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was conducted to examine the morphology of the nanofibers. The results revealed that as temperature increased, the diameter of the nanofibers decreased. The XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) results indicate the atomic composition of carbon-doped TiO2 nanofibers. UV–vis spectroscopy was performed to evaluate the optical properties of the carbon-doped TiO2 nanofibers. The results demonstrated a shift of the optical band towards the visible region. Moreover, the carbon doping reduced the effective band gap, resulting in improved visible light activity of the TiO2 material. These results have significant implications for potential applications of carbon-doped TiO2 nanofibers in various fields, such as photocatalysis and solar energy conversion.