Electrospun MEH-PPV/SBA-15 composite nanofibers using a dual syringe method

The process of electrospinning, which produces fibers in the nanometer to micron range under the influence of high voltages, has been widely studied to produce polymer and textile fibers. Mesoporous molecular sieve fibers have been produced in our lab, and this technique was extended to produce an interwoven mesh of polymer-molecular sieve composite fibers. The electroluminescent polymer MEH-PPV and molecular sieve SBA-15 were used to produce the composite fibers. An interesting aspect of these composites is that the fluorescence of MEH-PPV is blue shifted in the composites. The composites have been characterized by microscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, and fluorescence measurements.