Mass production of high-quality nanofibers via constructing pre-Taylor cones with high curvature on needleless electrospinning
Jian Xiong, Ye Liu, Ailin Li, Liang Wei, Liming Wang, Xiaohong Qin, Jianyong Yu
Abstract
Reasonable structural design of the spinneret plays vital roles in high-quality electrospinning technology. Free-surface electrospinning is among the most efficient needleless electrospinning techniques. However, current free-surface spinnerets have large exposed solution surface, ambiguous electric field, and poor ability stabilizing liquid. Herein, a novel mushroom shaped electrospinning (mushroom-electrospinning) that has a smooth cover was developed to overcome existing problems. The new setup promoted the formation of stable annular pre-Taylor cones with high curvature. The finite element analysis indicated that the mushroom-spinneret avoided the appearance of competitive electric field and concentrated the surface charge of the solution on the pre-Taylor cones. Consequently, the spinneret exhibited an outstanding production capacity of 13.7 g/h and all electrospun membranes showed superior narrow diameter distributions (CV ~ 10%). These novel understandings provide a promising avenue for generating nanofibers with enhanced yield and quality.