The Electrospinning Process

Abstract

The electrospinning technology is one of the most versatile and relevant non-mechanical, electrostatic processes to produce nano-scale meshes. The technology has a wide range of application areas from tissue engineering such as wound dressings, nerve tissues to textile and filter applications. Therefore, researches on the electrospinning technology have been rapidly increased in the last two decades in both academia and industry. The electrospinning process can be classified according to the materials used, number of nozzles, applied voltage and working conditions. Usually, the system involves ejecting a polymer solution (solution electrospinning) or melt (melt electrospinning) from a syringe needle tip, by applying a high electric field. Even though the system has three main devices (high power supply, a needle and collector) to produce the nano-scale meshes, it has various parameters (solution, process and ambient parameters) that have effect on the fibre quality and morphology. This chapter will discuss the types of electrospinning systems and their protocols for the fabrication of the fibres and solution, process and ambient parameters relevant to electrospinning and their effect on the morphology of the fibres.