Controlled assembly of graphene oxide nanosheets within one-dimensional polymer nanostructure

Abstract We have demonstrated that the location and distribution of graphene oxide nanosheets (GONs) confined in 1D polymer composites were readily controlled depending on the processing conditions of electrospinning such as the types of polymers and the solvents used for the fabrication. The uniform bead-free poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/GON composite nanofibers (NFs) even at high GON loading were obtained from the homogeneous polymer solutions attributable to the favorable interactions, as elucidated by spectroscopic data, thereby showing significant enhancement of their physical properties. The GONs were localized in the surface regions of the PVA-NFs due to the rapid convective evaporation of the water molecules, with concomitant aggregation into several sheets (