Experimental investigation of the governing parameters in the electrospinning of polymer solutions

In the electrospinning process, polymer nanofibers with submicron-scale diameters are formed when a droplet of a viscoelastic polymer solution is subjected to a high voltage electrostatic field. We report the experimental work on the electrospinning process in which the influence of different process parameters on the electric current and volume and surface charge density in the polymer jet was measured. Shear viscosity, surface tension, relaxation time, and the electric conductivity and permittivity were measured as well. For this purpose different solutions of polyethylene oxide (PEO), polyacrylic acid (PAA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyurethane (PU) and polycaprolactone (PCL) were prepared and underwent electrospinning. The governing parameters investigated were the applied voltage (V), the solution flow rate (Q), the polymer weight concentration (C), the molecular weight of the polymer (M), the nozzle-to-ground distance (H) and, in some solutions, the concentration of ethanol (C-et). (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.