Investigation of Effect of Electrospinning Parameters on the Morphology of Polyacrylonitrile/Polymethylmethacrylate Nanofibers: A Box–Behnken-Based Study

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)- and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-blended nanofibers produced using electrospinning and mat morphology were studied. The response surface method was exploited to optimize the diameter and its standard deviation of electrospun PAN/PMMA non-woven membranes. The diameter and its standard deviation were related to the solution concentration, applied voltage, and PMMA composition. The morphology of nanofibers was studied by means of field emission scanning electron microscopy. The importance of parameters and their interactions was investigated through the analysis of variance. The nanofibers' diameter increased with solution concentration and decreased with applied voltage. The data showed that the diameter of nanofibers decreased up to 50% with PMMA composition, and then increased with further increase of PMMA composition. Some important interactions between the parameters were detected.