Effect of electrospinning parameters on the nanofiber diameter and length

Abstract

Polymer nanofibers exhibit properties that make them a favorable material for the development of tissue engineering scaffolds, filtration devices, sensors, and high strength lightweight materials. Electrospinning is a versatile method commonly used to manufacture polymer nanofibers. Collection of electrospun nanofibers across two parallel plates is a technique useful for creating nanofiber structures because it allows for the collection of linearly oriented individual nanofiber arrays and these arrays can be easily transferred to other substrates or structures. It is of importance to have some understanding of the capabilities of this collection method, such as the maximum length of fibers that can be collected across two parallel plates. The effect of different electrospinning parameters on maximum fiber length, average fiber diameter, diameter uniformity, and fiber quality was explored. It was shown that relatively long continuous polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers with average diameters from approximately 350 nm to 1 µm could be collected across parallel plates at lengths up to 35-50 cm. Experimental results lead to the hypothesis that even longer continuous nanofibers over 50 cm could be collected if the size of the parallel plates were increased. Extending the maximum fiber length that can be collected across parallel plates could expand the applications of electrospinning. Polymer solution concentration, plate size, and applied voltage were all shown to have varying effects on maximum fiber length, fiber diameter, and fiber uniformity.

The Design and Evaluation of a Fast-Dissolving Drug Delivery System for Loratadine Using the Electrospinning Method

“…At low concentration and viscosity, the time it takes for droplets to dry is limited until they can reach the collector. The effect of a high concentration of the polymer solution on the increasing diameter of nanofibers has been established in other research (27)(28)(29)(30). In the present study, the increased concentration of the polymer solution by more than 35% did not result in suitable nanofibers; therefore, this was regarded as the maximum concentration.…”

Preparation and characterization of poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene nanofibers synthesized by electrospinning

“…The morphologies of the fibers, can be controlled by different parameters such as solution concentration, flow rate, applied voltage, duration of electrospinning and distance between needle tips to collector [3,30,31]. Prior to the electrospinning the PVA/graphene solutions, the system has been optimized with pure PVA solution to produce smooth and thin PVA fibers without beads and drops.…”

Pt nanoparticles deposited on TiO2 based nanofibers: Electrochemical stability and oxygen reduction activity

“…This work is a preliminary study, as the target application for such catalyzed fibers is PEM fuel cell operation at temperatures in excess of 100 • C. The fibrous TiO 2 was produced by a simple electrospinning process [18][19][20]. Electrospinning of nanofibers can be utilized for a variety of applications, e.g., filtration, tissue engineering scaffolds, wound healing, drug release control, and energy storage [21,22]. Catalyzed TiO 2 nanofibers were also proposed for utilization in heterogeneous catalysis, e.g., for the water gas shift reaction [23].…”