Study of Various Electrospinning Parameters on Nanofibers Morphology for Flexible Devices

Abstract

Flexible and lightweight polymer layers with surface topographies are sought-after as substrates to fabricate wearable sensors, displays and photovoltaic devices. This study demonstrates the nanofibers of various topographies through electrospinning. Initially, three important electrospinning parameters are selected, such as applied voltage, flow rate and needle diameter and the variation in nanofibers diameter with respect to these parameters are established. Further, based on established parameters, the effect of needle geometry, solvent, polymer and polymer blend are evaluated. The obtained nanofibers mats are flexible, free-standing and are mostly made up of inexpensive and commercially-available polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), poly (methyl methacrylate) PMMA and poly (ethylene oxide) PEO. The topographies obtained are round, flat, conjoined, wrinkled, porous striated and wrinkled with fibers diameter varying from 225 to 1300 nm. Thus, in this study, a single-step process is demonstrated for the generation of nanofibers mats with various topographies.