The Role of Electrical Polarity in Electrospinning and on the Mechanical and Structural Properties of As-Spun Fibers
Daniel P. Ura,
Joan Rosell-Llompart,
Angelika Zaszczyńska,
Gleb Vasilyev,
Arkadiusz Gradys,
Piotr K. Szewczyk,
Joanna Knapczyk-Korczak,
Ron Avrahami,
Alena O. Šišková,
Arkadii Arinstein,
Paweł Sajkiewicz,
Eyal Zussman,
Urszula Stachewicz
Affiliations
Daniel P. Ura
International Centre of Electron Microscopy for Materials Science, Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Joan Rosell-Llompart
Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. dels Països Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
Angelika Zaszczyńska
Laboratory of Polymers and Biomaterials, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-106 Warszawa, Poland
Gleb Vasilyev
NanoEngineering Group, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel
Arkadiusz Gradys
Laboratory of Polymers and Biomaterials, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-106 Warszawa, Poland
Piotr K. Szewczyk
International Centre of Electron Microscopy for Materials Science, Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Joanna Knapczyk-Korczak
International Centre of Electron Microscopy for Materials Science, Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Ron Avrahami
NanoEngineering Group, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel
Alena O. Šišková
Polymer Institute of Slovak Academy of Sciences, 845 41 Bratislava, Slovakia
Arkadii Arinstein
NanoEngineering Group, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel
Paweł Sajkiewicz
Laboratory of Polymers and Biomaterials, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-106 Warszawa, Poland
Eyal Zussman
NanoEngineering Group, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel
Urszula Stachewicz
International Centre of Electron Microscopy for Materials Science, Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Electric field strength and polarity in electrospinning processes and their effect on process dynamics and the physical properties of as-spun fibers is studied. Using a solution of the neutral polymer such as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) we explored the electrospun jet motion issued from a Taylor cone. We focused on the straight jet section up to the incipient stage of the bending instability and on the radius of the disk of the fibers deposited on the collecting electrode. A new correlation formula using dimensionless parameters was found, characterizing the effect of the electric field on the length of the straight jet, L˜E~E˜0.55. This correlation was found to be valid when the spinneret was either negatively or positively charged and the electrode grounded. The fiber deposition radius was found to be independent of the electric field strength and polarity. When the spinneret was negatively charged, L˜E was longer, the as-spun fibers were wider. The positively charged setup resulted in fibers with enhanced mechanical properties and higher crystallinity. This work demonstrates that often-overlooked electrical polarity and field strength parameters influence the dynamics of fiber electrospinning, which is crucial for designing polymer fiber properties and optimizing their collection.
