ELUCIDATING THE FRACTAL NATURE OF THE POROSITY OF NANOFIBER MEMBERS IN THE ELECTROSPINNING PROCESS
XIAO-XIA LI, Ye-Cheng Luo, Abdulrahman Ali Alsolami, Ji‐Huan He
Abstract
Electrospinning is an amazing process that enables the production of primarily nanofiber membranes. Nevertheless, the mechanism underlying the formation of two-dimensional (2D) nonwoven structure remains a fascinating enigma. This paper presents a novel morphology of nanofiber membranes with a cluster structure that bears resemblance to the solar nebula. The mechanism of nanofiber cluster structures in the electrospinning process is elucidated through the geometric potential theory, which begins with a zero-dimensional receptor, progresses to a one-dimensional (1D) receptor, a 2D receptor, and ultimately culminates in a fractal-like lattice receptor. Moreover, a three-dimensional (3D) printing-like novel approach is presented for the manipulation of nanofiber membrane’s shape through the use of a lattice-structured receptor. The fabrication process of the cluster structure nanofiber membranes by electrospinning is presented, and their remarkable potential applications are discussed.