High-Throughput Fabrication of Quality Nanofibers Using a Modified Free Surface Electrospinning

Abstract

Based on bubble electrospinning (BE), a modified free surface electrospinning (MFSE) using a cone-shaped air nozzle combined with a solution reservoir made of copper tubes was presented to increase the production of quality nanofibers. In the MFSE process, sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonates (SDBS) were added in the electrospun solution to generate bubbles on a liquid surface. The effects of applied voltage and generated bubbles on the morphology and production of nanofibers were investigated experimentally and theoretically. The theoretical analysis results of the electric field were in good agreement with the experimental data and showed that the quality and production of nanofibers were improved with the increase of applied voltage, and the generated bubbles would decrease the quality and production of nanofibers.

Effect of surface active agent on bubble-electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers

“…There are many factors affecting the morphology and property of nanofibers obtained in the MBE process, including properties of spinning solution (such as solution mass fraction, viscosity and electrical conductivity), spinning parameters (such as voltage, drum rotation speed and working distance), and environmental parameters (such as temperature and humidity) [12][13][14][15]. According to our previous work [5,8,16], the electrospinning parameters were set as follows. The spinning solution was prepared by dissolving 8 wt.% of PAN in N,Ndimethylformamide (DMF).…”

“…Meanwhile, the conductivity showed a sharp increase and the viscosity showed a dramatic decrease when the SDBS content was 0.5 wt.%. In addition, the addition of SDBS to polymer solution could effectively decrease the surface tension of the solution and generate bubbles on a liquid surface [5,10]. Figure 3 showed the rheological behavior between the shear viscosity and the shear rate of the PAN solution with different contents of SDBS.…”

“…Electrospun nanofiber, due to its many outstanding properties, can be used widely in the following applications: non-woven fabrics, filtration, reinforced fibers, support for enzymes, drug delivery systems, fuel cells, photonics, wound dressing, tissue engineering, catalyst supports, and so on [2][3][4]. However, traditional single-needle electrospinning inhibits nanofibers' commercial applications due to its low production [5].…”

Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic performance of heterostructured CuO–ZnO-loaded composite nanofiber membranes

“…Nanocomposites loaded with metal oxide semiconductors have excellent optical, electrical, mechanical and chemical properties, which might result in applications in photocatalysis [26]. Electrospinning is a simple and convenient method for preparing composite nanofibers (CNFs) [27][28][29][30][31]. CNFs have been widely applied as carrier material due to their outstanding characteristics, such as high surface area, good thermal stability, and excellent mechanical properties [32,33].…”

Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic performance of hetero-structured CuO-ZnO loaded composite nanofiber membranes

“…Nanocomposites loaded with metal oxide semiconductors have excellent optical, electrical, mechanical and chemical properties, which result in their great potential applications in photocatalysis [26]. Electrospinning provides a simple and convenient method for generating composite nanofibers (CNFs) [27][28][29][30][31]. There are many outstanding characteristics of CNFs, such as high ratio of surface area, superior thermal and mechanical properties, which could be widely used as a carrier [32,33].…”