Effect of Deposition Time on the Optoelectrical Properties of Electrospun PAN/AgNO3 Nanofibers

The aim of this study is to produce optically transparent nanofibers with adequate electrical conductivity for optoelectrical applications where transparency and conductivity are needed. Therefore, conductive polyacrylonitrile/silver nitrate (PAN/AgNO3) nanofibers were produced by electrospinning with different deposition times ranging from 1 minute to 10 minutes. The effect of deposition time on the sheet resistance and optical transparency of the nanofibers were investigated. The surface characteristics, electrical properties and transmittance values of the electrospun mats were evaluated. Nanofibers with diameters under 700 nm were obtained. With the increasing deposition time, the sheet resistance and transparency of the samples were decreased. In order to figure out the optimum deposition time, the figures of merit of the samples were calculated. The figures of merit of the samples showed that the sample deposited for three minutes gave the best performance among the others. It was seen that conductive PAN/AgNO3 nanofibers are promising for optoelectrical applications.