Electrospun fibrous membrane general characteristics

Electrospinning is a process used to construct nanofibers for use in industrial application and research. This process is highly versatile for fiber production and researchers are constantly pushing the boundaries of the structures, properties and the characteristics of its output through modification of the setup and materials. Listed below are some general characteristics of the membrane from typical electrospinning setup.

Characteristics	Description/Value	Remarks
Structure	Randomly organized/non-woven fibers membrane	Electrospinning on a stationary flat plate collector generally produces a flat membrane. However, some electrospun material and collector combination has been shown to result in the collection of three-dimensional, fluffy structure. Modification of setup and collector can be used to construct other fibrous structures with controlled fiber orientation.
Thickness	0.1 µm [Buchko et al 1999] to 70 µm [Zhang et al 2012]	Thickness of the electrospun membrane is controlled by the duration of fiber deposition and the presence of surface residual charges on the deposited fibers.
Fiber diameter	Typically range from 100 nm to 10 µm	Some researchers have been able to produce fibers that are less than 100 nm with optimization of the process and with selective materials. By increasing the concentration of the electrospun solution, larger fiber diameter beyond 10 µm can be fabricated.
Pore size	100 nm [Frey and Li 2007] to 12 µm [Ge et al 2012]	Generally, electrospinning is targeted for fabrication of fibers with diameter less than a micron. For such low diameter fiber, the pore size is mostly in the above mentioned pore size range. However, membrane with larger pore size has been reported although they are usually made out of fibers with larger diameter.
Porosity	20% [Noorpoor et al 2014] to 92% [Meng et al 2010]	Porosity of the electrospun fibers depend on a variety of factors including charge retention, fiber diameter and collector material.
Material	Polymers, ceramic precursors, metal precursors	Almost any solution with sufficient viscoelasticity and conductivity such that the solution stretches without breaking when a charged is applied to it under an electric field is a potential candidate for electrospinning.
Potential Applications	Medical implants, air filter membrane, water filter membrane, sensors, batteries, dye sensitized solar cell etc.

Characteristics

Description/Value

Remarks

Structure

Randomly organized/non-woven fibers membrane

Electrospinning on a stationary flat plate collector generally produces a flat membrane. However, some electrospun material and collector combination has been shown to result in the collection of three-dimensional, fluffy structure. Modification of setup and collector can be used to construct other fibrous structures with controlled fiber orientation.

Thickness

0.1 µm [Buchko et al 1999] to 70 µm [Zhang et al 2012]

Thickness of the electrospun membrane is controlled by the duration of fiber deposition and the presence of surface residual charges on the deposited fibers.

Fiber diameter

Typically range from 100 nm to 10 µm

Some researchers have been able to produce fibers that are less than 100 nm with optimization of the process and with selective materials. By increasing the concentration of the electrospun solution, larger fiber diameter beyond 10 µm can be fabricated.

Pore size

100 nm [Frey and Li 2007] to 12 µm [Ge et al 2012]

Generally, electrospinning is targeted for fabrication of fibers with diameter less than a micron. For such low diameter fiber, the pore size is mostly in the above mentioned pore size range. However, membrane with larger pore size has been reported although they are usually made out of fibers with larger diameter.

Porosity

20% [Noorpoor et al 2014] to 92% [Meng et al 2010]

Porosity of the electrospun fibers depend on a variety of factors including charge retention, fiber diameter and collector material.

Material

Polymers, ceramic precursors, metal precursors

Almost any solution with sufficient viscoelasticity and conductivity such that the solution stretches without breaking when a charged is applied to it under an electric field is a potential candidate for electrospinning.

Potential Applications

Medical implants, air filter membrane, water filter membrane, sensors, batteries, dye sensitized solar cell etc.

▼ Reference

▼ Credit and Acknowledgement