Control of diameter, morphology, and structure of PVDF nanofiber fabricated by electrospray deposition

Abstract

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofibers were prepared by electrospray deposition (ESD). To control the diameter, morphology, and structure of PVDF nanofibers, some parameters were investigated, such as polymer concentration, nozzle‐to‐ground collector distance, feeding rate of the polymer solution, and applied voltage. The fabricated fiber was 80–700 nm in diameter. The increase in the polymer concentration caused an increase in the polymer viscosity and fiber diameter. At low polymer concentration (5 wt %), polymer nanoparticles were formed. An increase in applied voltage will increase the fiber diameter. Variation in the nozzle‐to‐ground collector distance did not result in significant changes in the fiber diameter. Increase in the feeding rate of the polymer solution decreased the fiber diameter. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) measurements showed that the melting point and total crystallinity were decreased. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurement revealed that ESD process induced the formation of the oriented β‐phase PVDF structures. It was also demonstrated that the addition of hydrofluorocarbon solvent to polymer solution remarkably enhanced the formation of β‐phase crystalline structure of PVDF nanofiber. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 779–786, 2006

Electrospinning of poly(methyl methacrylate) nanofibers in a pump-free process

“…Our measurement has shown at 10 kV, that the measured extraction rate is about 0.8 ml/h, which increases to 1 ml/h at 20 kV and 3 ml/h at 30 kV. Although our voltage-dependent results are generally in good agreement with the literature [19,20,38] , several inconsistent results have also been reported. For instance, Katti et al [17] reported that an increase in voltage caused a decrease in nanofiber diameter initially, and further increase in the voltage caused fluctuation of the nanofiber diameter.…”

“…More controversially, measurement taken by Gu et al [21] showed no correlation between fiber diameter and bias voltage. Moreover, careful inspection of the data reported by Zhang et al [19] and Nasir et al [20] also revealed a sublinear curvature, whereas our results show a superlinear curvature. Such a complex spectrum of the voltage-dependent results should be thoroughly analyzed, in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the whole picture, although it is worth mentioning that most of these reported results are obtained using flow control.…”

“…Although, it is generally agreed that larger bias voltage creates larger diameter fibers [19,20] , Katti et al [17] reported that an increase in voltage caused a decrease in nanofiber diameter initially, but further increase caused nanofiber diameter fluctuation. More controversially, measurements taken by Gu et al [21] showed no correlation between fiber diameter and bias voltage.…”

Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/zinc oxide smart composite material

“…Several other studies were recently published on electrospinning PVDF fibers, Harisson et al 37,38 , Zhao et al 39 , Nasir et al 40 , Re and Dzenis 41 , Yee et al…”

Preparation of Porous PVDF Nanofiber from PVDF/PVP Blend by Electrospray Deposition

“…8 Most of approaches for introducing porous structure into the bulk on a nanofiber relied on (i) the ESD of blends or composite followed by selective removal of one component, 9,10 and (ii) phase separation based on evaporation of solvent or in the presence of vapor during ESD. 11,12 Here, we attempt to prepare porous polymeric nanofiber from polymer blend by using a former approach.…”