Electrospinning of PAN/lignin blends aiming the production of carbon nanofibers

Abstract

PAN electrospinning blends with different Kraft lignin (KLp) contents (10–50% by weight) were characterized via FT-IR, TGA and DSC and SEM. FT-IR analyzes identified typical functional groups of PAN and KLp in electrospinning mixtures. DSC and TGA data showed good thermal stability of the mixtures, which supports the subsequent fiber stabilization step. SEM images showed the mixture to be 50% by weight. of lignin, electrospun with a voltage of 18 kV, resulted in fibers with smaller diameters and fewer defects. Carbon blanket from the mixture with 10% by weight of LKp was successfully obtained. Graphical abstract: (Figure presented.).