Electrospinning of polycarbonate/tetrapyrazinoindoloporphyrazine composite fibers

Abstract

Electrospinning technology is a simple and low-cost method for making micro- and nanoscale fibers through the action of an external electric field imposed on a polymer solution. Electrospun fibers have very high surface area, mechanical strength, and flexibility. A variety of materials, such as polymers, inorganic compounds, and polymer/inorganic composite nanofibers have been used to prepare electrospun fibers. The nanofibers have many potential applications in tissue engineering, optical sensing, biosensing, and membrane technology. Porphyrazine is composed of a central conjugated C8N8 ring with four pyrrole groups. The properties of the porphyrazine can be adjusted by tailoring the basic molecule, such as by substitution in a controlled manner with electron-withdrawing or -donating groups to the macrocycle, or extension of the π-electron system. Phthalocyanines are the most studied molecules among porphyrazine derivatives because of their potential applications in various fields. One of the most useful areas is blue and green dyes and pigments. In this study, we have fabricated polycarbonate/tetrapyrazinoindoloporphyrazine composite fibers using the electrospinning technique. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to verify the structural compositions of the composite fibers. Scanning and transmission electron microscopies have been used to reveal the morphology of the composite fibers. FT-IR and UV-vis spectroscopy have been used to characterize the structure of the polycarbonate/tetrapyrazinoindoloporphyrazine composite fibers.