PVDF nanofibers composite containing core-shell (ZnO@ZIF-8) for use in smart textile applications

Abstract

Currently, electronic textiles (E-textiles) have gained tremendous attention. In recent years, there has been significant interest in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are emerging porous materials and have gained immense interest in recent years. In this study, we successfully synthesized a core-shell zinc oxide @ zeolite imidazolate framework-8 (ZnO@ZIF-8) composite and used it to fabricate electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibrous composites. Nanofibers were produced using an electrospinning machine. We analyzed the synthesized (ZnO@ZIF-8) powder and PVDF and PVDF/(ZnO@ZIF-8) nanofibrous composite using field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques to investigate their morphological and crystallographic structures. The results demonstrated the successful fabrication of uniform and bead-free nanofibers. The incorporation of (ZnO@ZIF-8) composite particles into the PVDF polymer solution resulted in an increased ?-phase content in the fabricated PVDF/(ZnO@ZIF-8) nanofibrous composite compared to the pristine PVDF nanofibrous composite. The nanofibrous mat has various applications, including E-Textiles, flexible sensors, energy scavenging, smart textiles, wearable devices, and energy harvesting.