Controlled atmosphere electrospinning of organic nanofibers with improved light emission and waveguiding properties

TL;DR

This paper introduces a controlled nitrogen atmosphere electrospinning method that produces smoother, more uniform organic nanofibers with enhanced optical emission and waveguiding properties, suitable for advanced photonic applications.

Contribution

It presents a novel controlled atmosphere electrospinning technique that significantly improves the optical and structural quality of organic nanofibers compared to conventional methods.

Findings

Fibers are smoother and more uniform.

Optical losses are reduced by ten times.

Enhanced emission quantum yield observed.

Abstract

Electrospinning in controlled nitrogen atmosphere is developed for the realization of active polymer nanofibers. Fibers electrospun under controlled atmospheric conditions are found to be smoother and more uniform than samples realized by conventional electrospinning processes performed in air. In addition, they exhibit peculiar composition, incorporating a greatly reduced oxygen content during manufacturing, which favors enhanced optical properties and increases emission quantum yield. Active waveguides with optical losses coefficients lowered by ten times with respect to fibers spun in air are demonstrated through this method. These findings make the process very promising for the highly-controlled production of active polymer nanostructures for photonics, electronics and sensing.