The effect of applied voltage and Laser power on the molecular orientation of laser-electrospun poly(ethyiene terephthalate) fibers

Abstract

Laser-electrospinning is a melt electrospinning process. We investigated the influence of the draw ratio, the laser power, and the applied voltage on the structure and properties of laser-electrospun poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers, specifically, their birefringence, boil-off shrinkage, and mechanical properties. We found that when the draw ratio was increased, the birefringence and the boil-off shrinkage of electrospun fibers increased, while their natural draw ratio and elongation at break decreased. In addition, when either the laser power or the applied voltage was increased, the birefringence decreased, whereas the natural draw ratio and elongation at break increased. The boil-off shrinkage also decreased with an increase in the draw ratio, but the laser power and applied voltage mainly influenced for lowbirefringence region.