Hydrothermal growth of mop-brush-shaped ZnO rods on the surface of electrospun nylon-6 nanofibers

Abstract This study is focused on forming a spider-wave-like nano-nets of nylon-6 decorated with unique mop-brush-shaped ZnO rods. The nanocomposite is prepared in two steps. First, ZnO nano-seeds containing electrospun nylon-6 nano-nets were fabricated by blending ZnO nanoparticles with nylon-6 solution. Second, the electrospun ZnO/nylon-6 composite was hydrothermalized with ZnO precursor solution to grow long ZnO mop-brush-shaped rods on the surface of fibers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and FT-IR revealed that simultaneous formation of spider-wave-like nano-nets and effective uploading of ZnO nano-seeds were carried out by electrospinning from the blend solution. Field-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) showed that unique mop-brush-shaped ZnO rods were effectively grown on the surface of nylon-6 fibers. As-synthesized spider-wave-like nano-nets of nylon-6 decorated with large number of mop-brush-shaped ZnO rods showed good hydrophilicity, photocatalytic property, and UV-shielding property. Furthermore, uploading technique of nano-seeds with small amounts during electrospinning and successive grown of sufficient amount of mop-brush-shaped ZnO rods nucleated by these nano-seeds during hydrothermal treatment provide a good stability of ZnO rods on the surface of fibers. Therefore, as-synthesized inorganic/organic nanocomposite (IONC) fibers may be used as potential textile for water treatment and protective clothing.