Synthesis of praseodymium oxide nanofiber by electrospinning

Well-defined and uniform Pr6O11 nanofibers were synthesized by electrospinning of an aqueous sol-gel consisting of praseodymium nitrate hexa-hydrate and polyvinyl acetate. The synthesized Pr6O11 nanofibers mat was dried at 80 degrees C for 24 h under vacuum and finally annealed at 600 degrees C for 2 h in static air furnace. From crystalline properties, the synthesized Pr6O11 nanofibers XRD analysis revealed the typical cubic structure. The morphological observation showed that the synthesized Pr6O11 nanofibers composed of fibers length in several 100 nm and diameter of similar to 20 nm. Similarly, transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurement revealed the good crystalline nature of the synthesized Pr6O11 nanofibers with the average diameter of similar to 20 nm. Photoluminescence (PL) demonstrated a strong green-blue emission peak at 521 nm, suggesting that the Pr6O11 nanofiber exhibited good crystal quality with very less structural defects. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.