Cooperative Charging Effects of Fibers from Electrospinning of Electrically Dissimilar Polymers

Abstract

Electrical charging and residual charge decay of electro-spun nonwoven webs comprised of two electrically dissimilar polymers were studied in an effort to investigate their filtration properties. Polystyrene (PS) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were electrospun separately, in a layer-by-layer configuration and simultaneously in a side-by-side bi-component apparatus into thin webs on a polypropylene spunbond substrate. During electrospinning of the PS and PAN polymer solutions, the fibers became positively charged when positive voltage was applied to the solution-filled spinning nozzle and became negatively charged when negative voltage was applied. This study was undertaken to examine the effect of cooperative charging from electrospinning of the two polymers, the effect of the three types of web constructions on charge retention, and filtration properties of the fibers. It was found that single, multilayered, and bi-component webs retained surface charges in the thousands of volts that diminished very little over a 20-hour period, but eventually bled off while resting for three months. Filtration properties were found to be exceptionally high for some, but not all, electrospun samples; filtration was found to have a weak dependence on both surface charge and web geometrical factors, particularly the fiber diameter, that influence pressure drop of the aerosol test.