Production of aligned nanofibers using parallel electrode collectors in electrospinning method

Nanofibers that produce with the electrospinning method are conventionally collected in randomly arranged nonwoven format. In this study, it is emphasized to collect the aligned nanofibers as parallel to each other by using parallel electrode collectors. In this context, the effect of the width of collectors, gap distance, TCD and charge density parameters on the orientation of the nanofibers and their average diameter was studied for the PAN and PVA polymers. All nanofiber samples were imaged by scanning electron microscopy. The nanofiber array angles and average diameters are determined and the results were interpreted visually and statically. Optimal plate widths for alignment were observed as 15 mm and 20 mm for PAN and PVA. Optimal gap distances were observed 1 cm and 2 cm for PAN and 3 cm and 4 cm for PVA. It was resulted that these two parameters had no significant effect on the average nanofiber diameter. In addition, as the charge density and TCD increase, the alignment for both polymers is getting worse. 1 kV charge density and 9 cm TCD values are the best alignment values for both polymers.