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A turn-on fluorescence sensing system for mercuric (Hg2+) ions relying on a modified rhodamine B–chitosan fluorophore moiety was developed. This novel sensing approach relies on the simultaneous electrospinning of chitosan and rhodamine B hydrazide with phenylisothiocyanate functionality in hexafluoroisopropanol solution at 3.4 kV cm−1. The electrospun mats exhibited not only considerably enhanced fluorescence intensity in the presence of mercury ions, a result attributed to the ring opening of the spirolactam unit of the rhodamine-based fluorophore, but also a remarkably high sensitivity and selectivity toward Hg2+. In effect, the strategy has the potential to open new avenues in the design and development of other high-performance nanofibrous sensing materials for detecting target metal species of environmental interest.

This study reports a feasible method for the removal of radioactive U(VI) ions from aqueous systems via column sorption under continuous flow. Electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers were used as sorbent materials in a homemade minicolumn. The nitrile groups on the fibers’ surface were modified to amidoxime groups using hydroxylamine hydrochloride. Surface modification was observed to enhance the sorption capacity of PAN fibers toward uranium ions by more than 4-fold by virtue of the chelating ability of the amidoxime groups. The experiments investigated the effect of pH, initial concentration, and repetitive loading on the sorption properties of amidoximated PAN fibers. Based on the overall results, the surface-modified fibers seem to be a suitable potential sorbent material for applications in environmental cleanup, particularly for nuclear plants.

We present herein a new concept for the preparation of nanofibrous metal oxides based on the simultaneous electrospinning of metal oxide precursors and silica nanoparticles. Precursor fibers are prepared by electrospinning silica nanoparticles (20 nm in diameter) dispersed in an aqueous solution of poly(acrylic acid) and metal salts. Upon calcination in air, the poly(acrylic acid) matrix is removed, the silica nanoparticles are cemented, and nanocrystalline metal oxide particles of 4-14 nm are nucleated at the surface of the silica nanoparticles. The obtained continuous silica fibers act as a structural framework for metal oxide nanoparticles and show improved mechanical integrity compared to the neat metal oxide fibers. The hierarchically nanostructured materials are promising for catalysis applications, as demonstrated by the successful degradation of a model dye in the presence of the fibers.

Sol-gel based amine-functionalized SPME fibers (PDMS-weak anion exchanger) were prepared and used for direct mode extraction of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and arsenate (As(V)) from aqueous solutions followed by HPLC-ICPMS determination. Two different methods of coating were employed: (i) electrospinning and (ii) dip coating. Electrospinning was used for the first time for preparation of sol-gel based SPME fibers and was found to be superior in terms of extracted amount of arsenicals, coating homogeneity, accessibility of amine groups on the surface, and preparation time for a single fiber. Various parameters such as solution pH, extraction time, agitation speed, extraction temperature, and ionic strength were studied. Optimum extraction conditions were determined as pH of 5.0, extraction time of 30 min, agitation speed of 700 rpm, and extraction temperature of 20 degrees C. Extraction ability of the novel coating decreased by the addition of NaCl as a consequence of the competition between anionic arsenic species and chloride ions for active sites of the weak anion exchanger. This novel sol-gel coating prepared by electrospinning was found to be promising for SPME applications. Vibrational spectroscopy revealed the alignment of PDMS chains by elongational force under electrospinning process. The chain alignment accordingly orients the pendant amino functional groups perpendicular to the fiber surface, which may develop the free active functional groups available to the medium and lead to the enhancement of the extraction performance. Moreover, the proposed coating strategy through electrospinning might be able to break new ground for various applications in analytical chemistry as well as other disciplines.

We report molecular aggregate formation of TTBC (1,1′,3,3′- tetraethyl-5,5′,6,6′-tetrachlorobenzimidazolocarbocyanine) in submicrometer-sized PVA (poly(vinyl alcohol)) fibers by electrospinning. The formation of the molecular aggregate is examined by solution and instrumental parameters of electrospinning. The precursor solution of PVA/TTBC, in the range of 0.016-0.065 wt % is subjected to electrospinning under an electrical field ranging from 0.95 to 1.81 kV cm-1. Both randomly deposited and uniaxially aligned fibers are achieved by using two parallel-positioned metal strips as counter electrode. Photoluminescence and polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies are employed to determine spectral properties of the fibers. H-aggregates are formed within the electrospun fibers, regardless of their alignment, and H- and J-type aggregates coexist in the alternative spin-coated and the cast films. A strongly polarized photoluminescence emission is observed in the direction of uniaxially aligned fibers as a result of the orientation of the H-aggregates along the fiber axis. We demonstrate that electrospinning is a process capable of forming and orienting TTBC aggregates during the structural development of the polymer/dye nanofibers. These fibrous films may potentially find applications in optics and electronics., TÜBİTAK TBAG-107T795

Thesis (Doctoral)--İzmir Institute of Technology, Chemistry, İzmir, 2013, Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 136-161), Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and English, xxi, 161 leaves, Electrospinning is a simple and versatile method to fabricate ultrathin fibrous mats from a wide variety of organic and/or inorganic materials. Since it allows fabricating fiber diameter and surface/internal structures by solution and instrumental parameters, electrospun fibers provide much enhanced functionalities, which can not be obtained by bulk materials. This thesis examines the filtration, sensing and catalytical applications associated with the remarkable features of electrospun nanofibers. The systems studied are reported herein; (i) The first part of this dissertation deals with the filtration applications of electrospun nanofibrous membranes.  Nano-sized chitosan fibers were utilized for sorption of Fe(III), Cu(II), Ag(I), and Cd(II) ions from aqueous solutions.  The surface of chitosan fibers were further functionalized by monodisperse nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) particles for the removal of inorganic arsenic species.  Sorption of radioactive U(VI) ions from aqueous systems via column sorption under continuous flow was performed using amidoximated polyacrylonitrile fibers. (ii) The second part of this dissertation presents sensing applications of ceramic fibers.  Humidity sensing properties of electrospun ZnO fiber mats were investigated by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) method and electrical measurements.  Electrospinning technique was used as coating process for deposition of CeO2/ZnO and ZnO based nanofibers on the electrode of QCM. The fiber-coated QCM sensors were used for the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). (iii) The last part of this dissertation describes an approach to fabricate hierarchically structured composite nanofibers. The nanostructured materials prepared by the simultaneous electrospinning of CeO2 and LiCoO2 precursors and SiO2 nanoparticles were used for the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) based fibers with a diameter of 80-100 nm were prepared by electrospinning. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and zinc acetate dihydrate were dissolved in water and the polymer/salt solution was electrospun at 2.5 kV cm-1. The resulting electrospun fibers were subjected to calcination at 500 °C for 2 h to obtain ZnO-based fibers. Humidity sensing properties of the fiber mats were investigated by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) method and electrical measurements. The adsorption kinetics under constant relative humidity (RH) between 10% and 90% were explained using Langmuir adsorption model. Results of the measurements showed that ZnO-based fibers were found to be promising candidate for humidity sensing applications at room temperature., TÜBİTAK project number TBAG 109T240; İYTE Scientific Research Project with project number 2008IYTE31

Thesis (Master)--İzmir Institute of Technology, Chemistry, İzmir, 2008, Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 68-78), Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and English, xi, 78 leaves, In this study, the superconducting properties of laboratory synthesized MgB2 was investigated. In the first part, MgB2 synthesis using commercial magnesium and boron (95-97% purity), and its microstructural and electrical characterization was investigated.Effects of sheath material and annealing temperatures were also examined. The microstructural studies showed that when Cu tubes were used as sheath material, MgCu2 forms instead of MgB2 even at 700oC, while on Fe clad cores, the major phase was MgB2 with minor MgO constituent. The transition temperatures of Fe clad wires were measured between 39K and 40K, whereas no transition temperature was observed for Cu clad wires. The Ic value of the Fe clad MgB2 wire was about 25 A at 4K, while the copper clad wire could not carry current and formed resistance. In Fe clad wires, better results were obtained at annealing temperature of 800°C for 30 minutes. In the second part, MgB2 synthesis using commercial magnesium and boron (90% purity) was tried. 0-5-10-15 wt% of Mg doping and, additionally annealing temperatures were examined. Powder-In-Tube method was used for wire production. 10 wt% Mg addition was seen to be beneficial as compared to the stoichiometric MgB2. 750°C was found to be the most suitable temperature for the formation of MgB2 phase. The Ic value of the wire was measured as 13 A at 4K and it showed a broader transition with non-zero resistivity, transition temperature of 24K.In the third part, 200 m long four filament MgB2/Cu wire was successfully produced in laboratory conditions.

This study proposes a new sorbent for the removal of inorganic arsenic from aqueous solutions. Monodispersed nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) particles were nucleated at the surface of electrospun chitosan fibers (average fiber diameter of 195 ± 50 nm) by liquid phase reduction of FeCl3 using NaBH4. The material was characterized using SEM, TGA, XPS, XRD, and FTIR. The diameter of iron nanoparticles was found to vary between 75-100 nm. A set of batch experiments were carried out to elucidate the efficiency of the composite sorbent toward fixation of arsenite and arsenate ions. The ion concentrations in the supernatant solutions were determined using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results revealed that the chitosan fiber supported nZVI particles is an excellent sorbent material for inorganic arsenic uptake at concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 5.00 mg L -1 over a wide range of pH values. Based on XPS analysis, As(iii) was found to undergo oxidation to As(v) upon sorption, while As(v) retained its oxidation state. By virtue of the successful combination of the electrospun fibers' mechanical integrity and the large reactivity of dispersed nZVI particles, the applicability of the resulting sorbent material in arsenic sorption holds broad promise.