Simulated image of electrospun nonwoven web of PVA and corresponding nanofiber diameter distribution

Abstract

Fiber diameter is the most important characteristic in electrospun nonwoven webs. Understanding how it is influenced by the electrospinning parameters is essential to produce webs with desired characteristics. In this contribution, Direct Tracking method for measuring electrospun fiber diameter is described. To evaluate the accuracy of the technique, a simulation algorithm for generating webs with known characteristics was employed. To verify the applicability of the method on real samples, an electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) mat, as a representative of real webs, was used. Since the Direct Tracking method uses a binary image as its input, local thresholding was applied to segment the SEM micrograph of the electrospun web. The results indicate that the method could be used successfully for determining fiber diameter in electrospun nonwoven webs.

A new approach for optimization of electrospun nanofiber formation process

“…Thereafter, the micrograph of electrospun PVA fibers was obtained by scanning electron microscope (SEM, Phillips XL-30) under magnification of 10,000×. Quite recently, the authors established a couple of image analysis based techniques entitled as direct tracking [50,51] and new distance transform [52,53] for measuring electrospun nanofiber diameter. In this study, fiber diameter distribution for each specimen was determined from the SEM micrograph by new distance transform method due to its effectiveness.…”

Evaluation of electrospun nanofiber pore structure parameters

“…As the solution moves away from the needle and toward the collector, the solvent evaporates and jet rapidly thins and dries. On the surface of the collector, a nonwoven web of randomly oriented solid nanofibers is deposited [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Fig.…”

Experimental investigation of the governing parameters in the electrospinning of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) scaffolds: Structural characteristics of the pores

“…23 On the same basis, for a 2D layer, the fraction of open areas proportional to the total area of the same layer is considered as porosity. 24 Because of the selected threshold, the layer thickness was considered to be negligible, as with a 2D structure. 3 Assuming that the fibers diameter in a layer was equal to the layer thickness itself, we reconstructed the 3D virtual structure by their random successive repetition (Fig.…”