Electrospinning

Electrospinning is a fiber production method which uses electric force to draw charged threads of polymer solutions or polymer melts up to fiber diameters in the order of some hundred nanometers. Electrospinning shares characteristics of both electrospraying and conventional solution dry spinning of fibers. The process does not require the use of coagulation chemistry or high temperatures to produce solid threads from solution. This makes the process particularly suited to the production of fibers using large and complex molecules. Electrospinning from molten precursors is also practiced; this method ensures that no solvent can be carried over into the final product. Electrospinning is a fiber production method which uses electric force to draw charged threads of polymer solutions or polymer melts up to fiber diameters in the order of some hundred nanometers. Electrospinning shares characteristics of both electrospraying and conventional solution dry spinning of fibers. The process does not require the use of coagulation chemistry or high temperatures to produce solid threads from solution. This makes the process particularly suited to the production of fibers using large and complex molecules. Electrospinning from molten precursors is also practiced; this method ensures that no solvent can be carried over into the final product. When a sufficiently high voltage is applied to a liquid droplet, the body of the liquid becomes charged, and electrostatic repulsion counteracts the surface tension and the droplet is stretched; at a critical point a stream of liquid erupts from the surface. This point of eruption is known as the Taylor cone. If the molecular cohesion of the liquid is sufficiently high, stream breakup does not occur (if it does, droplets are electrosprayed) and a charged liquid jet is formed. As the jet dries in flight, the mode of current flow changes from ohmic to convective as the charge migrates to the surface of the fiber. The jet is then elongated by a whipping process caused by electrostatic repulsion initiated at small bends in the fiber, until it is finally deposited on the grounded collector. The elongation and thinning of the fiber resulting from this bending instability leads to the formation of uniform fibers with nanometer-scale diameters. The standard laboratory setup for electrospinning consists of a spinneret (typically a hypodermic syringe needle) connected to a high-voltage (5 to 50 kV) direct current power supply, a syringe pump, and a grounded collector. A polymer solution, sol-gel, particulate suspension or melt is loaded into the syringe and this liquid is extruded from the needle tip at a constant rate by a syringe pump. Alternatively, the droplet at the tip of the spinneret can be replenished by feeding from a header tank providing a constant feed pressure. This constant pressure type feed works better for lower viscosity feedstocks. Modification of the spinneret and/or the type of solution can allow for the creation of fibers with unique structures and properties. Electrospun fibers can adopt a porous or core–shell morphology depending on the type of materials being spun as well as the evaporation rates and miscibility for the solvents involved. For techniques which involve multiple spinning fluids, the general criteria for the creation of fibers depends upon the spinnability of the outer solution. This opens up the possibility of creating composite fibers which can function as drug delivery systems or possess the ability to self-heal upon failure. A coaxial setup uses a dual-solution feed system which allows for the injection of one solution into another at the tip of the spinneret. The sheath fluid is believed to act as a carrier which draws in the inner fluid at the Taylor Cone of the electrospinning jet. If the solutions are immiscible then a core shell structure is usually observed. Miscible solutions however can result in porosity or a fiber with distinct phases due to phase separation during solidification of the fiber. For more advanced setups, a triaxial or quadaxial (tetra-axial) spinneret can be used with multiple solutions. Emulsions can be used to create core shell or composite fibers without modification of the spinneret. However, these fibers are usually more difficult to produce as compared to coaxial spinning due to the greater number of variables which must be accounted for in creating the emulsion. A water phase and an immiscible solvent phase are mixed in the presence of an emulsifying agent to form the emulsion. Any agent which stabilizes the interface between the immiscible phases can be used. Surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate, Triton and nanoparticles have been used successfully. During the electrospinning process the emulsion droplets within the fluid are stretched and gradually confined leading to their coalescence. If the volume fraction of inner fluid is sufficiently high, a continuous inner core can be formed. Electrospinning of blends is a variation of this technique which uses the fact that polymers are generally immiscible with each and can phase segregate without the use of surfactants. This method can be simplified further if a solvent which dissolves both polymers is used. Electrospinning of polymer melts eliminates the need for volatile solvents in solution electrospinning. Semi crystalline polymer fibers such as PE, PET and PP, which would otherwise be impossible or very difficult to create using solution spinning, can be created. The setup is very similar to that employed in conventional electrospinning and includes the use of a syringe or spinneret, a high voltage supply and the collector. The polymer melt is usually produced by heating from either resistance heating, circulating fluids, air heating or lasers.