Electrospinning and its applications

Jun-Seo Park

Abstract

Electrospinning is a process used to fabricate continuous nanoscale fibers with diameters in the sub-micrometer to nanometer range using a high-voltage power supply. Electrospun (e-spun) fibers and the non-woven webs manufactured from them have attracted considerable attention due to their outstanding characteristics, such as high porosity, small diameter, excellent pore interconnectivity and high surface-to-volume ratio. Because of the useful properties of e-spun fibers, many synthetic and natural polymers, including single and blended polymers, have been electrospun into fibers that can be employed in a variety of applications such as filtration and thermal insulation, and in the manufacture of protective clothing, sensors, conducting devices, wound dressings and scaffolds for tissue engineering. Utilizing the electrospinning technique and its product, some studies on its applications have been conducted in our lab. They included the fabrication of a conducting composite mat for electrical applications, an antibacterial web for a biomedical sector and PCM containing e-spun mat for energy storage