Preparation of Fe3O4/PVA nanofibers via combining in-situ composite with electrospinning

Abstract A novel approach, combining in-situ composite method with electrospinning, was used to prepare high magnetic Fe 3 O 4 /poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composite nanofibers. Fe 3 O 4 magnetic fluids were synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method in the presence of 6 wt.% PVA aqueous solution. PVA was used as stabilizer and polymeric matrix. The resulting Fe 3 O 4 /PVA composite nanofibers were characterized with field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD), respectively. These composite fibers showed a uniform and continuous morphology, with the Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles embedded in the fibers. Magnetization test confirmed that the composite fiber showed a high saturated magnetization ( M s = 2.42 emµ·g –1 ) although only 4 wt.% content.