Electrospinning—Application of Inorganic Nanofiber Materials

Electrospinning—Application of Inorganic Nanofiber Materials

Nanofiber has always been a research hotspot in the field of nanomaterials. Inorganic nanofibers particularly not only have the small-size effect, surface effect, quantum size effect, macro quantum tunneling effect, and dielectric effect of nanomaterials, but also have excellent high-temperature resistance, high screw degeneration, thermal chock resistance, high chemical stability and high strength properties. It plays an irreplaceable role in the fields of energy, optoelectronics, catalysis, and sensing.

1. Energy Field

1) Electrode Material

It is divided into fuel cells, dye-sensitized solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, etc. Nanomaterials can be used as fuel cell catalysts, not only have high oxygen reduction activity, but also not easy poisoning and have good durability, high stability, porosity and strong conductivity. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), mainly based on the principle of photosynthesis, developed a new type of solar cell. DSSC mainly consists of nanoporous semiconductor thin film, dye sensitizer, redox electrolyte, counter electrode and conductive substrate. The research results show that one-dimensional structure of metal oxide nanomaterials has good conductivity, which can improve the energy conversion rate of DSSCs. The overall charge capacity of a lithium-ion battery depends on the cathode material, and the electrospinning inorganic nanofiber can be used as a cathode material of a high-performance lithium-ion battery to improve its performance.

2) Super Capacitor

Super capacitor, also called double-layer capacitor, is a new type of charge storage device. It has characteristics such as high power density, fast charging speed, long cycle life, good temperature characteristics, high safety performance, and environmental protection. Its electric capacity strongly depends on the type and structure of the electrode material. Electrospinning technology can prepare a nanofiber material with controllable morphology, which contributes to the improvement of the performance of the supercapacitor.

           

2. Electronic DevicesElectrospinning technology can produce ultra-long continuous nanofibers. And through improving the collection device, it can achieve an orderly arrangement of nanofibers, which is conducive to the integration of nanodevices. When the size of the material reaches the nanoscale, partial quantification of its electronic energy level occurs, resulting in the formation of new electrical properties. Therefore, electrospinning nanofibers have broad application prospects in the field of electronic devices, mainly including nanowires, field effect transistors, diodes, miniature spectrometers, etc.

3. Gas Sensor

The gas sensor assembled from nano materials with excellent properties has the advantages of small size, large specific surface area, high sensitivity and good selectivity, and is widely used in industrial production, environmental protection, medical diagnosis and food safety.

           

4. Catalytic Field

Due to the large specific surface area of the inorganic nanofibers, the inorganic nanofibers can be more fully in contact with the reactants, which can improve the catalytic efficiency, and have important applications in the field of catalysis, and can be used as chemical catalysts, electrochemical catalysts, photocatalysts, etc.