Parametric Study of Electrospinning of Polymer Nanocomposites

Abstract

Electrospinning as an effective and promising technique for the production of nanofibres provides a mat of extremely fine fibres with small pore size and high surface area. Ultrafine electrospun nanofibres of polymers and nanofillers have been researched for several applications. Polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibres are researched for tissue engineering and wound dressing due to its biodegradability and biocompatibility. Nylon 6 nanofibres are studied for protective clothing due to its high thermal stability and superior mechanical properties. Polyurethane (PU) nanofibres are studied for filtration and protective clothing due to its chemical stability, mass transport and excellent nanofibre forming characteristic. Electrospinning has gained increased attention for development of protective clothing as it offers the flexibility of controlling the porosity and size of the fibres. newlineElectrospinning process control and thus the formation, shape, morphology and strength of electrospun fibres are essential for the design of specific electrospinning conditions and materials for various applications. Nanofibre diameter and diameter distribution are the two key parameters. Majority of the application areas such as air filtration prefer smaller fibre diameter. Fine fibres of low diameter allow rapid removal of dirt and render the medium with high density and small pore size. Beaded electrospun fibres are commonly reported when the concentration of the solution or the molecular weight of the polymer used is very low. They are usually considered as poor-quality fibres and the electrospinning parameters are often optimized to eliminate beads on fibres. newlineSeveral studies reported the influence of flow rate, solution concentration and applied voltage on fibre morphology. Porosity, pore radius, thickness and surface roughness of the nanofibre mats also influence their properties. However, such studies are scarce. Electrospinning is governed by the electric field intensity generated due to the applied voltage between the spinneret a