Production of Helical Polymer Microfibers by Electrospinning

Abstract:

Curled polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) microfibers were prepared successfully with a modified electrospinning setup in which the commonly used collector, a piece of aluminum foil was replaced by a steel nail (a tip collector). PVP (45 wt %) ethanol solution was used.with the increase of voltage, the proportion of the curled fibers increased and the uniformity of the curled fibers improved, also the repeat distance (wavelength) of the curled structures became smaller. In addition, some curled fibers developed into helical structures under relatively high voltages. Further analyses suggest that the mechanism for the curled PVP fibers could be ascribed to electric driven bending instability and/or mechanical jet buckling when hitting the hard collector surface.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 688)
• Pages: 250-254
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.688.250
• Online since: June 2011
• Authors: Cheng Chun Tang, Yun-Ze Long, Jun Chi Chen
• Keywords: Buckling, Electro-Spinning, Helical Microfibers, Tip Collector

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