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In Situ Viscosity‐Controlled Electrospinning with a Low Threshold Voltage
Author(s) -
He Haijun,
Kara Yahya,
Molnár Kolos
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201900349
Subject(s) - electrospinning , materials science , spinning , composite material , shearing (physics) , body orifice , capillary action , viscosity , rotational speed , jet (fluid) , shear thinning , polymer solution , voltage , polymer , mechanics , mechanical engineering , electrical engineering , physics , engineering
In the present study, a novel electrospinning method is proposed,where jet formation is aided by shearing the solution in situ. With a generalpolymer solution, viscosity decreases by shearing, that is, the solution isshear‐thinning. Poly(ethylene‐oxide) is used as a model polymer andthe effects of rotation speed, solution concentration, and gap size (the widthof the annular orifice) on the process and the morphology of the obtainedfibers are investigated. It is found that the threshold voltage for generatingmultiple jets decreased from 35 to 12 kV when rotation speed is higher than60 rpm (or shear rate more than 310 s −1 ). Additionally, the results show thatfiber diameter increases as the concentration of the solution increases. Thechi‐square two‐sample test is used to compare the distribution of fibersproduced by the capillary method and the novel electrospinning process. Inthe authors' method, the viscosity of the solution can be changed by applyingmechanical forces on it during the electrospinning process, which results inthe initiation of the electrospinning jet at a low threshold voltage. It is alsofound that gap size has a similar effect on fiber diameter as needle diameter in classical electrospinning.