Needleless electrospinning using a flat wheel spinneret

Abstract

Nanofibers have a wide range of applications, however; the mass production of nanofibers is still an obstacle to wider industrial application. In this paper, a flat wheel was used as a spinneret for production of poly (vinyl) acohol nanofibers. Electric field comparative analysis was done between the flat wheel and other spinnerets such as a cylinder, disk and ring. It was found the flat wheel falls between the cylinder and disk and ring spinnerets. Sequence generation of polymer js was observed from the both edges of the wheel and as well as from the surface of the wheel. The impact of operating parameters on fiber morphology was studied and it was found that smooth, uniform nanofibers with diameter around 350nm could be produced by using this spinneret. Influence of strength of applied electric field and solution concentration on the production rate was also examined and it was noted that the production rate of nanofibers using a flat wheel spinneret is several times higher than that obtained using a conventional needle electrospinning setup.