Mass production of nanofibers from needleless electrospinning by a novel annular spinneret

A novel annular spinneret was developed for the needleless mass production of nanofibers. Polymer solution was transported to the top of the annular where multiple jets were formed when the applied voltage exceeded a certain value. Electric field intensity values were simulated by finite element software. Morphology, diameter and productivity of nanofibers were investigated by changing the electrospinning process parameters which were solution concentration, applied voltage, collection distance and solution flow rate. The results showed the highest electric field strength value at the top of annular spinneret. The diameter of nanofibers gradually increased with the solution concentration. Increasing the applied voltage, collection distance and solution flow rate had some significant influence on the diameter of nanofibers. The highest productivity of nanofibers reached 4.5 g/h. Filtration properties and pore diameter distribution of the nanofibers membranes were investigated and these exhibited potential for air filtration. It was noteworthy that this method maximally utilized the solution to form multiple jets, since it significantly reduced the effect of solvent evaporation in the electrospinning process. Annular spinneret offered a potential for large scale production of nanofibers in the future. (c) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

开发了一种新型的环形喷丝头，用于无纺大批量生产纳米纤维。当施加的电压超过一定值时，聚合物溶液被输送到环形顶部，在环形顶部形成多个喷嘴。电场强度值通过有限元软件进行模拟。通过改变溶液浓度，施加电压，收集距离和溶液流速等静电纺丝工艺参数，研究了纳米纤维的形貌，直径和生产率。结果表明，在环形喷丝头的顶部具有最高的电场强度值。纳米纤维的直径随着溶液浓度的增加而逐渐增加。施加电压，收集距离和溶液流速的增加对纳米纤维的直径有一定的显着影响。纳米纤维的最高生产率达到4.5 g / h。研究了纳米纤维膜的过滤性能和孔径分布，它们具有空气过滤的潜力。值得注意的是，该方法最大程度地利用了溶液形成多个喷嘴，因为它大大降低了电纺丝过程中溶剂蒸发的影响。环形喷丝板为将来大规模生产纳米纤维提供了潜力。 （c）2019作者。由Elsevier Ltd.发布。这是CC BY-NC-ND许可下的开放获取文章

Published: 2019

Journal ：MATERIALS & DESIGN

Impact Factor：6.821

Paper link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127519303235