Electrospinning: A Simple and Versatile Technique for Producing Ceramic Nanofibers and Nanotubes

Electrospinning is a remarkably simple method for generating nanofibers of polymers. When combined with conventional sol-gel processing, it provides a versatile technique for producing ceramic nanofibers with either a solid, porous, or hollow structure. This chapter presents a brief overview of recent progress in preparation of ceramic nanofibers by electrospinning, with a focus on an introduction to experimental procedures and analysis of several technical issues that are vital for a successful electrospinning experiment. It highlights the unique capabilities of this technique in processing ceramic materials into nanostruc-tures, and illustrates some potential applications of these nano-structures. The discussion of this technique clearly demonstrates that a combination of electrospinning with conventional sol-gel processing not only provides a powerful tool for producing inorganic fibers and tubes with diameters down to the nanometer scale but also offers new and simple approaches to manipulate the fibers and to further create complex, nanostructured architectures and systems.