We report the study of ZnO-polyacrylonitrile (ZnO-PAN) nanofibers fabricated by the combination of electrospinning and atomic layer deposition. The latter technique enables us to control the size of the surface of ZnO 1D nanostructures and hence its effectiveness for energy and biosensor applications. We observe the tendency of ZnO to form nanograins with increase of the layer thickness, and investigate the influence of the grain size on the electronic properties of the nanofibers. It is demonstrated that the ZnO work function (Phi) is strongly affected by surface band bending in the ZnO layer. The observed change of Phi in ZnO layers results from the curvature of the grain surface as well as the presence of the hydroxyl and oxygen groups, adsorbed on ZnO surface and is in a good agreement with theoretical prediction. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.