Open AccessThe effect of process parameters on the electrospun polystyrene fibers
Author(s) -
Cristina Banciu,
Adela Bara,
Elena Chiţanu,
Virgil Marinescu,
Gabriela Sbarcea,
Ioana Ion
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
industria textilă
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.281
H-Index - 14
ISSN - 1222-5347
DOI - 10.35530/it.069.04.1481
Subject(s) - materials science , polystyrene , electrospinning , polymer , nanofiber , composite material , filtration (mathematics) , scanning electron microscope , microfiber , viscosity , fiber , ultimate tensile strength , porosity , volumetric flow rate , chemical engineering , statistics , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Electrospinning is one of the methods for obtaining nano/microfibers, using polymeric solutions. These nanofibrousmembranes are highly porous with interconnected pores, having high specific surface area and small pore size, makingthem a suitable candidate for filtration applications. The properties of electrospun fibers are influenced by polymersolution, solvent, solution concentration, viscosity, electrical conductivity, electrical voltage, spinneret to collectordistance etc. Expanded polystyrene is a polymeric product that is usually used for insulation and packaging. Recyclingexpanded polystyrene into nanofibers with applications in filtration could be useful from an economic point of view. Thepurpose of this study was to investigate the influence of expanded polystyrene polymer solution characteristics(concentration, viscosity) and the process parameters (applied voltage, distance between the tip and the collector plate,flow rate of the polymer solution) on the morphology and the properties of the obtained electrospun fibers. Therefore,three EPS solutions with 10, 15 and 20% wt. concentration were prepared and were electrospun under processingconditions with an applied voltage of 12, 15 and 18 kV, a spinneret-to-collector distance of 20 cm, a flow rate of solutionof 1.5 and 2 mL/hour, a spinneret diameter of 0.8 mm and stationary copper substrate. The morphology of theelectrospun fibers was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The mechanical properties were evaluated by tensilestrength and elongation tests.