LAUSR

Novel one-dimensional [Fe3O4/PANI/PAN]//[Eu(BA)3phen/PAN] (PANI = polyaniline, PAN = polyacrylonitrile, BA = benzoic acid, and phen = 1,10-phenanthrolin) heterogeneous nanofiber yarns synchronously endued with excellent tri-functionality of fluorescence, superparamagnetism and electrical conductivity were successfully fabricated for the first time using conjugate electrospinning. The heterogeneous nanofiber yarns are composed of [Fe3O4/PANI/PAN] electrical–superparamagnetic nanofibers and [Eu(BA)3phen/PAN] fluorescent nanofibers, realizing effectively the isolation of dark-colored Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) and PANI from Eu(BA)3phen complexes, and thus enhanced fluorescence intensity is acquired. The morphologies and properties of the samples were studied in detail using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry, four-probe testing, a vibrating sample magnetometer and an F-7000 fluorescence spectrophotometer. The results reveal that the prepared heterogeneous nanofiber yarns have a large aspect ratio and uniform diameter, and that the nanofibers in the yarns demonstrate high orientation. It is found that the superparamagnetism and electrical conductivity of the heterogeneous nanofiber yarns can be respectively adjusted by modulating the amounts of Fe3O4 NPs and PANI in the yarns, and the highest electrical conductivity reaches up to the order of 10−3 S cm−1. More importantly, the fluorescence intensity of the heterogeneous nanofiber yarns is much stronger than that of the counterpart [Fe3O4/PANI/Eu(BA)3phen/PAN] homogeneous nanofiber yarns with the same compositions and contents owing to the fact that the Fe3O4 NPs and PANI were not directly mixed with the Eu(BA)3phen complexes. Furthermore, the design concept and preparation method provide an effective route for manufacturing other multi-functional nanofiber yarns.