From Inner Topological Structure to Functional Nanofibers: Theoretical Analysis and Experimental Verification

Abstract

The mechanical strength of spider silk is the highest among all natural fibers, and its flexibility is also excellent; this phenomenon can be explained geometrically, due to its hierarchical structure, the last cascade of which beginning with well-ordered macromolecules. The inner topological structure of a nanofiber plays an important role in controlling its functions, e.g., its mechanical, electrical and chemical properties. This paper shows that nanoparticles can be well-ordered in the electrospinning process as a result, the nanofibers’ properties can be adjusted. Some experiments are designed to verify our theoretical prediction.

Keywords

• nanofiber
• topological structure
• Hall–Petch effect
• nanoparticle
• bubble-electrospinning