Effect of MoS2 Nanosheet Fillers on Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanofibre Composites Obtained by the Electrospinning Method

The graphene-like two dimensional (2D) inorganic materials have been been shown great interest for a variety of applications. In this work, polymer composite nanofibres containing molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets were obtained by electrospinning. The MoS2 nanosheets were well dispersed inside the fibres, and the nanofibres maintained the fibre morphology well with the MoS2 nanosheets embedded. The incorporation of MoS2 nanosheets changes polymer nanofibre morphology from round to ribbon-like. Moreover, through thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) measurements, it was found that the MoS2 nanosheets as an additive material led to an increase in thermal stability and in the storage modulus. This work comprises an extensive approach to producing a novel 2D inorganic-organic composite structure, which should be applicable for membrane engineering with enhanced thermal and mechanical stability.