Table Of ContentElectrospinning
Principles, Practice and Possibilities
RSC Polymer Chemistry Series
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14: Electrospinning: Principles, Practice and Possibilities
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Electrospinning
Principles, Practice and Possibilities
Edited by
Geoffrey R. Mitchell
Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development, Institute Polytechnic
of Leiria, Marinha Grande, Portugal
Email: geoff[email protected]
RSCPolymerChemistrySeriesNo.14
PrintISBN:978-1-84973-556-8
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Preface
Electrospinning is an emerging manufacturing technology which parallels
the current drive towards multidisciplinary science, involving an exciting
mix of engineering, physical chemistry and physics, together with science
from a breadth of applications, extending from regenerative medicine to
energy harvesting, wound dressings to catalysts, and synthetic meat to
high performance composites. Much of electrospinning is associated with
polymers and the infinite variety of polymers mixes well with the variation
and control available through electrospinning to prepare materials and
structures for diverse requirements.
This book arose out of a conference series organised by the Institute of
Physics in London with the support of the Dielectrics Group, the Polymer
PhysicsGroupandtheElectrostaticsGroup.Thefirstinthisserieswasheld
in 2010 and the third in December 2013. The vast majority of the authors
presentedtheirworkatthesemeetings.Iammostgratefulfortheirpositive
response to turning these efforts into a book chapter.
I have set out to provide a book that I would have found useful when
Istartedworkonelectrospinningandwouldbeveryinterestedtoreadtoday.
We start the book with an introduction to electrospinning which, coupled
with Chapter 2, a glossary of terms, provides a great overview to electro-
spinning and electrospun fibres for those new to the field. Hopefully, the
glossaryoftermswillprovideacommonlanguageforelectrospinnerstouse
to describe their work. The history of electrospinning from a commercial
exploitation perspective, prepared by Nick Tucker, provides a fascinating
insight into an idea looking for applications. It should be noted in this
regardthatthescanningelectronmicroscope,theprincipaltoolforimaging
electrospun fibres, was not developed until the 1950s, with commercial
instruments only coming on stream in the 1960s.
RSCPolymerChemistrySeriesNo.14
Electrospinning:Principles,PracticeandPossibilities
EditedbyGeoffreyR.Mitchell
rTheRoyalSocietyofChemistry2015
PublishedbytheRoyalSocietyofChemistry,www.rsc.org
v
vi Preface
Chapter 4 takes us through the process parameters for optimising the
electrospinning process and in Chapter 5 Greenfield and Zussman discuss
the connections between the microscopic behaviour in the electrospinning
jet and the physics of the jet. This is followed by two chapters from the
pioneersintheirrespectivefields,namelymeltelectrospinningandcolloidal
electrospinning. These chapters are then followed by one addressing the
developmentofstructure,bothintermsofexternalandinternalmorphology
during electrospinning. Guy Schattler shows how we can build complex
structures usingelectrospinning and Asa Barber describes the properties of
electro-spun nanofibres. Chapter 11 highlights many of the opportunities
that electrospun fibres provide in medicine and biomedical devices and
Chapter 12 focuses on the use of electrospun scaffolds to grow synthetic
meat.Thebookconcludeswiththatmostdifficultoftasks,gaugingwhatwill
happen in the future. With some certainty, we can say that in light of the
versatility of electrospinning techniques, there is ample scope for many
surprises over the next ten years.
Geoffrey Mitchell
Marinha Grande, Portugal
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Fred J. Davis, Saeed D. Mohan and Muaathe A. Ibraheem
1.1 Polymer Fibres 1
1.2 Principles of Electrospinning 3
1.3 Equipment for Electrospinning 4
1.4 Processing Parameters 7
1.5 Materials 11
1.6 Characterisation of Fibres 14
1.7 Health and Safety 16
1.8 Applications 17
1.9 Summary 18
References 18
Chapter 2 Glossary of Terms 22
Jonathan Stanger and Fred J. Davis
Chapter 3 The Development of Electrospinning Technologies for
Commercial Application 34
Nick Tucker
3.1 Introduction 34
3.2 John Francis Cooley 39
3.3 William James Morton 42
3.4 Kiyohiko Hagiwara 42
3.5 Anton Formhals 43
3.6 Charles Ladd Norton 46
3.7 Petryanov Filters 47
3.8 Fred W Manning 48
RSCPolymerChemistrySeriesNo.14
Electrospinning:Principles,PracticeandPossibilities
EditedbyGeoffreyR.Mitchell
rTheRoyalSocietyofChemistry2015
PublishedbytheRoyalSocietyofChemistry,www.rsc.org
vii
viii Contents
3.9 1944–1970 USA 48
3.10 1976–1987 Europe 50
3.11 Current Times 1990s 53
Acknowledgements 53
References 54
Chapter 4 Optimising Solutions for Electrospinning 57
Stuart R. Coles and Andrew Wooldridge
4.1 Introduction 57
4.2 Feedstock Properties 58
4.2.1 Solution Concentration 59
4.2.2 Molecular Weight and Surface Tension 60
4.2.3 Conductivity 62
4.3 Experimental Setup 62
4.3.1 Flow Rate 62
4.3.2 Electric Field Strength 63
4.3.3 Grounded Collector Design 64
4.3.4 Fibre Collection Methodology 64
4.4 Environmental Conditions 66
4.4.1 Temperature 66
4.4.2 Humidity 67
4.5 Conclusion 69
References 69
Chapter 5 Polymer Network Dynamics during Electrospinning:
Random Walk Simulation 71
Israel Greenfeld and Eyal Zussman
5.1 Introduction 71
5.2 Random Walk Simulation of Polymer Chains 72
5.2.1 Background 72
5.2.2 Theoretical Basis 75
5.3 Single Chain 76
5.3.1 Chain under Tension 76
5.3.2 Free Chain in a Flow Field 79
5.4 Network in a Flow Field 82
5.4.1 Polymer System and Forces 82
5.4.2 Network Dynamics 86
5.4.3 Analytic Approximation 89
5.5 Discussion and Conclusions 90
5.6 Appendix: Random Walk Simulation Tool 93
5.6.1 Program and Examples 93
5.6.2 Network Simulation Procedure 96
Acknowledgements 97
References 97
Contents ix
Chapter 6 Design and Fabrication of Scaffolds via Melt
Electrospinning for Applications in Tissue Engineering 100
Paul D. Dalton, M. Lourdes Muerza-Cascante and
Dietmar W. Hutmacher
6.1 Background 100
6.2 Scaffold Design and Fabrication 101
6.3 The Melt Electrospinning Process 102
6.4 Fibre Homogeneity and Uniformity 105
6.5 Melt Electrospinning Configurations 105
6.5.1 Heating Systems 106
6.5.2 Applied Voltage 107
6.5.3 Collection Distance 107
6.5.4 Spinneret Diameter 108
6.5.5 Temperature 108
6.5.6 Flow Rate 108
6.5.7 Collector Type 108
6.6 Melt Electrospinning Writing 109
6.7 3D Architectures and Structures for TE Scaffolds 110
6.8 Applications of Melt Electrospun Scaffolds in
Tumour and Tissue Engineering Applications 111
6.9 Conclusion 115
Acknowledgements 116
References 116
Chapter 7 Electrospinning of Nanoparticles 121
Daniel Crespy
7.1 Introduction 121
7.2 Principles and Preparation Procedures 122
7.2.1 Principles 122
7.2.2 AggregationStateoftheNanoparticlesinthe
Feed and in the Fibres 123
7.2.3 Morphologies of the Fibres and of the
Colloids in the Fibres 123
7.3 Relevant Characterization Techniques 128
7.3.1 AggregationStateoftheNanoparticlesinthe
Electrospinning Feed 128
7.3.2 AggregationStateoftheNanoparticlesinthe
Fibres 128
7.4 Selected Applications of Colloid-electrospinning 129
7.4.1 Catalysis,EnergyProductionandConversion 129
7.4.2 Antiwetting 132
7.5 Biomedical Applications 132
7.6 Conclusions and Perspectives 132
References 133
x Contents
Chapter 8 Structure Development in Electrospun Fibres 136
Geoffrey R. Mitchell, Saeed D. Mohan, Fred J. Davis,
Kyung-Hwa Ahn, Mohamed Al-Azab, Ahmed El Hadi,
Delyth Elliott, Mahadevappa Y. Kariduraganavar,
Anitha Nagarajan and Meruyert Nazhipkyzy
8.1 Introduction 136
8.2 Structure Development Transferred from Solution 137
8.2.1 Polymers in Solution 137
8.2.2 Cluster Formation in PEO-based Aqueous
Solutions 141
8.2.3 Hydrogen Bonding 142
8.3 Structure Development During Electrospinning 143
8.3.1 Use of a Rotating Collector 143
8.3.2 Porosity 148
8.3.3 State of the Fibre at Solidification 150
8.3.4 Shape of Fibre 152
8.3.5 Nanophase Separation in Block
Copolymers 155
8.3.6 Electrospun Nanocomposites 156
8.3.7 Chain Trajectories 156
8.3.8 Blends and Additives 159
8.3.9 Semicrystalline Polymers 162
8.3.10 Temperature 166
8.4 Structure Development Post Electrospinning 166
8.4.1 Residual Solvent 166
8.4.2 Structural Transformation Using Solvent
Vapour Treatment 166
8.4.3 Cross-linking 168
8.4.4 Other Chemical Reactions 168
8.5 Summary 169
Acknowledgements 169
References 169
Chapter 9 Organized Assembly of Electrospun Nanofibres:
From 1D to 3D 172
Salima Nedjari, Anne H´ebraud and Guy Schlatter
9.1 Fibre Alignment 173
9.1.1 Electrostatic Forces 173
9.1.2 Magnetic Forces 177
9.1.3 Mechanical Forces 178
9.2 2D Patterned Nanofibrous Membranes 181
9.2.1 2D Composites Formed from 1D Aligned
Fibres 181
