Design, development, and experimental setup of near-field electrospinning with a sharp electrode: Influence of procedural parameters on the 3D nanofiber structure

Abstract

A near-field electrospinning configuration has been developed to fabricate 3D structures by layer-by-layer stacking. The system or experimental setup consists of a high voltage source, a syringe pump, and the electrospinning equipment which has been designed and built. It works with Arduino Uno as a controller for adjusting the procedural parameters through OpenBuilds CONTROL software using a firmware preloaded on the Arduino Uno. The proposed experimental configuration consists of a collinear arrangement between the spinner and the sharp electrode, which move in the XY directions, keeping the same disposition; this arrangement is designed with the aim of manipulating the electric field (EF) and reducing instabilities associated with the process. The displacement speed (DS) and the distance of work adjust automatically to modify nanofiber features, which improves the flexibility of the system. In order to be efficient and set the EF profile, this was simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics® software. Nylon 6,6 polymeric fiber films have been electrospun to evaluate the efficiency of the system setup and the influence of parameters. The fiber morphology is studied by scanning electron microscopy and the chemical structure features are studied by infrared spectroscopy. Parameters such as voltage and DS are studied experimentally and analyzed to determine their effects on the control of fiber deposition. Stacking of up to 15 layers was obtained where the structural characteristics notably depend on the operating parameters.